XMen: A High Price To Pay
by DarkBlueKnight
Summary: Set after XMen: The Last Stand. The first story of this projected trilogy deals with the arrest of Magneto, his trial, and the consequences for both human and mutantkind.
1. Chapter 1

**A HIGH PRICE TO PAY **

**Prologue**

The chess board lay open on the table. The sunlight coming in from the window made the pieces gleam.

"This promises to be an interesting game," a woman in a wheelchair said. She extended a hand and touched the edge of the board facing her.

"Yes, it does," a man replied. He stood near the window, gazing out at the garden below. He could see the grounds keeper and his assistants working studiously, knowing well how exacting their employer was. "I believe this may well be the most interesting game that we've played in a long while, Cassandra." He stepped away from the window and went over to a side table where a decanter of brandy and some finely-cut snifters awaited.

"Oh, yes, Sebastian," Cassandra Nova said. The sunlight fell away from where she was, making her just a silhouette—a small, somewhat hunched figure sitting in a modern wheelchair. "That it will be...and one of the most important, as well."

Sebastian Shaw's chief butler entered the room and announced the arrival of his son and a guest. He told his servant to let them enter.

Shinobi Shaw, looking dapper in his custom-tailored suit, walked in with a smile on his face, as always. "I've brought Mr. Essex with me, father," he said. Behind him followed a man who was dressed up like a doctor who'd been called away from the daily rounds at his hospital.

"Ah, just the man we've been waiting for." Sebastian took a sip of his brandy. "Welcome, Nathaniel. I trust you had an uneventful journey?"

"Most uneventful," Nathaniel Essex said. "And since I'm here, I might as well make myself comfortable. May I, Sebastian?"

"Of course," Shaw replied. Nathaniel Essex began to shed his doctor's whites, along with much of his physical form, and change into his true shape and identity. His skin turned a deathly white, his eyes became a pupil-less red, and his clothes were replaced by dark-blue armor that sheathed his entire body save his head. As a final touch, his armor sprouted streamers of a clothlike material that served as his cape. He adjusted the high collar around his neck.

"Much better," Nathaniel Essex—the man called Sinister—remarked. His unnerving red eyes turned towards Cassandra Nova. "Ah, Madame Cassandra. It pleases me to see you again." He bowed slightly in a gesture of respect.

"And it pleases me to see you, Sinister," she said, moving out of the shadows. Her appearance belied the refinement in her voice. Cassandra Nova was bald, somewhat shrunken, and withered as if with great age. Despite that, her eyes radiated terrible strength and vitality. "How goes the work for which I commissioned you?"

"Almost complete, Madame Cassandra," Sinister reported with a sharp-toothed smile. "I simply need to purge some extraneous and unnecessary memories."

"Ah, so she retained some, did she?" Cassandra asked.

"Indeed," Sinister replied. "But it won't be a problem to erase them."

"Excellent," Cassandra said.

"You couldn't have done better, if I might say so, Madame Cassandra," Shinobi said, handing a goblet of red wine to Sinister. "Imagine—the combined powers of two of the most powerful mutants in the world! I daresay you'll have the potential to change the course of history." He finished his own drink and put it back on the side table. "Well, father, if I'm not needed here any longer, permit me to take my leave. There's much that's important to attend to at the company."

"Of course, Shinobi—you're an important player in this game as much as we three are," Shaw said to the young man. "Have a safe journey, son."

Shinobi bowed respectfully to his father and said goodbye to their two guests, then left them to discuss their plans among themselves.

"Are all the pieces in place?" Cassandra asked moments later.

Sinister approached the board. He counted off pieces, touching each one lightly as he did so: "The Black King is in place, as is the Black Bishop. The Black Queen will be ready soon. And the White Queen—"

"What about the White Queen?" Cassandra asked. "What's Emma been doing since we last saw her?" She fixed a stern gaze at Sinister. "That young lady had better be ready. I expect much from her."

"The White Queen will be ready, according to our plans, Madame Cassandra," Sinister said. "And so will her consort."

Sebastian laughed. "Then we control all the pieces! It seems almost a disappointment that there's no chance we can lose."

"Almost," Cassandra said. "Well, shall we begin the game then, gentlemen?"

"I think we should," Sinister agreed.

"Let the first move be made," Shaw seconded him.

Cassandra wheeled herself towards the board. Without laying a hand on any of the pieces, she set a black pawn in motion. Sinister and Shaw joined her at the table, watching with barely contained glee as the game began to unfold.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter One**

Jamie Madrox sat back in the booth he was occupying in the diner and thought, _Yeah, I could get used to this._

He finished off his cup of coffee—the second that he'd had with breakfast—and signalled the waitress for another one. He watched as she approached, coffee pot in hand. She was wearing an apron over a t-shirt, jeans, and sneakers. _Not your typical waitress' uniform,_ Madrox said silently. _But she sure is pretty._ Her long, brown hair was tied in a ponytail that made her look seventeen (Madrox estimated her to be no older than twenty-three), she had a trim figure, and her smile was like the morning sun (or at least, that's how it looked to him).

"So, you believe in me now, mister?" she asked, refilling his cup.

"Yes, ma'am," Madrox replied. "This surely is the best coffee in the world."

"I told you, didn't I?" she said, favoring him with one of her smiles.

"Uh-huh," Madrox said. "That you did."

"Want anything else?"

"How about some more biscuits? These are good, too."

"I make them myself when I get in," the waitress declared proudly. "How many do you want, mister?"

"Four more ought to do," Madrox said, smiling shyly at her.

"All right—four biscuits coming up." The waitress left and went to attend to another customer on her way to the counter. She glanced back, though, and that made Madrox's heart skip a beat or two. He felt like asking her what time she got off and then inviting her for dinner or a walk or something like that when she came back but he knew it wasn't possible. He was going to regret leaving when he was done with his job.

As if on cue, a woman dressed in a light tan jacket, jeans, and sensible walking shoes entered the diner. Her hair was short and black, cut in a vaguely European style. She was about to approach the counter when she spotted him.

"Well, well—seems to me that I've seen that disguise before," Madrox remarked as the woman joined him at his booth.

"So you have," the woman said. The waitress who'd been serving Madrox came over with a plate of biscuits and a menu which she handed over to Madrox's guest . "Welcome to Irma's Diner, ma'am," she greeted her.

"I'll have a cup of coffee for now, please," the woman said, barely looking at the menu. "I'll order something in a little while if I get hungry."

"One coffee, coming up," the waitress said. "You want some more coffee, mister?"

"In a while, ma'am," Madrox said. "Let me enjoy these biscuits first."

"All right." She left them to fetch the woman's coffee.

"That's a good choice," Madrox said, buttering up a biscuit and dipping it into his cup. "This is real great coffee."

"I can see that," the woman said. "Now, have you found out where our target is or have you been spending all your time in this diner?"

"Tsk-tsk, you think I'd waste what you're paying me even if it is government money, Mystique?" Madrox said. "Of course I know where he is. What do you think my dupes are for? I've got this entire neighborhood covered."

"And am I going to learn where he is or will this be costing me extra?" Mystique asked. Briefly she wondered why she even thought of recruiting Madrox—otherwise known as the Multiple Man—for this assignment, considering what was at stake. _I should've left him in that detention center,_ she thought.

"Hell, I'll take you there if you want—after I finish these biscuits." Madrox actually smiled at Mystique as if he was playing some immensely enjoyable game.

Mystique sighed. Part of her wished she could shoot Madrox right then and there but there were too many witnesses. She would also be unable to find out what he'd learned from his surveillance.She signalled the waitress. If Madrox was going to take his sweet time, she might as well eat something just to keep up her strength for what might happen.

A couple of hours later, Madrox and Mystique were sitting in a nondescript car across the street from a somewhat large, old house. It looked like it had been standing there before the neighborhood was even an idea in some architect's mind.

"He's in there," Madrox said softly. "He's alone today, from what I can tell, but he's usually got people there."

"Who might those people be?" Mystique asked.

"Oh, a bunch of kids. He's got a school in there, if you can believe it," Madrox replied. "Plus there's a man and a woman who visit him from time to time. The man comes over more frequently."

"I don't suppose you have any surveillance photos of those people you're referring to, do you?"

Madrox reached over to the back seat and produced an envelope. Mystique opened it and took out the photos inside. She skimmed through them—and then stopped. She held up two photos.

"When did these two visit him?"she asked.

Madrox took one photo. It showed the man he'd referred to earlier. In the photo, he was conversing with Magneto while they were on the way out of the house. "This one visits him a lot," he reported. "Almost every other day, in fact, although he hasn't been around lately. What I've found out is that he owns the house. He was the one who brought your former boss there to stash him. He also helped set up the school. Goes by the name of Carlos Webb, according to the records I got."

"And this one?" She handed the other photo to him. Madrox smiled. He didn't need to ID the girl in the photo, at least not to Mystique. She probably knew her by sight.

"Rogue's been there several times," was Madrox's comment. "She's accompanied Webb three times over the past few months. You have to wonder what an X-Man is doing visiting your ex-boss, though."

Mystique was silent. She didn't know why Rogue and David Caine (_Carlos Webb,_ thought Mystique. _Where does he get those names?_) would have anything to do with the man they were going after, either. But then again, perhaps it was something to be expected.

"Does he go out? To get groceries, maybe, or something like that?" she asked after a while.

Madrox checked his PDA. "Since he's got no classes today, he's most likely going to go to the neighborhood park to play chess with himself. After that, he may go to the public library."

"We've got to take him before he gets out into the street." Mystique spoke into her ear piece's microphone: "Status report."

"We're in position, boss," was the reply. "I still don't know if this is such a good idea, though."

"I agree," another voice added.

"Listen—if we don't take him in, we might as well go back to the DMA and turn ourselves in." Mystique paused and waited.

"Standing by for instructions, boss," was the response to her statement.

"We take him inside the house." She turned towards Madrox when he shook her shoulder to get her attention. "What?"

"Look," he said with a trace of urgency in his voice. She did—and swore inwardly.

Rogue was heading for the house.

"Now what?" Madrox asked.

Fleetingly, Mystique wanted to back off for now and try again another day but she knew that their time was short. They had to bring Magneto into custody.

"Ten minutes," she told her team.

Erik Lehnsherr—otherwise known as Magneto—looked at the grandfather clock in the library and shut the book he was reading. It was time for him to take his regular trip to the park. He put the book back in its place on the shelf and then went to his room to get his hat and coat.

David Caine had picked a nice house for him to live in. And the history of the house—according to David, the family who originally owned it were Abolitionists during the slavery era. Then they offered safe haven to Jewish folk who were targeted by bigots, even after World War II. All in all, Magneto thought, it was a house that defined the word _sanctuary_.

He was putting on his coat when he heard the doorbell ringing. He held out his hand and the silver-headed walking stick that he'd found in one of the rooms upstairs flew into his grip. Then he exited his room to see who was at the door.

Rogue rang the doorbell and waited for someone to come to the door. She looked around, taking note once again of the quiet neighborhood surrounding her. _David sure can pick some nice places to live,_ she thought.

She heard someone come to the door and open it. "Well, my dear Anne Marie," Magneto greeted her with a smile. "Good morning to you." In all her life until she had spent time with him, Rogue never knew that Magneto could have such a warm smile.

"Good morning, Mr. Lehnsherr," she said. "May I come in?"

"I'm afraid you've caught me on my way out, my dear," Magneto said. "However, you're welcome to join me, if you wish."

"I would, if you don't mind the company, Mr. Lehnsherr," Rogue said.

"Of course not," Magneto said. "Come in for a moment then—I need to get one more thing."

Rogue stepped inside the house. "Where is everyone else?" she asked.

"I gave them the day off," Magneto told her. He went back to the library and went over to a table near the street-side window. A chessboard lay atop it with the pieces still in formation from a recent game that he had with Victor Mancha, one of his students. An intelligent boy, if a bit withdrawn. In some ways, he reminded Magneto of himself. A smile played upon his lips at that thought. Never did he believe that he could actually see himself in a young boy.

He held his hand over the board and the pieces floated upward. With a gesture, he clustered them together. Turning the board over, he began to pack up the pieces. When he was done, he went to the living room where Rogue was waiting for him.

"All set," he said. "Come, my dear."

That was when the doorbell sounded again.

"Now who might that be?" Magneto remarked. "Did Mr. Caine mention that he would be joining us?"

"No, sir," Rogue replied. "I know he's with Colonel Fury right now."

Magneto went to the door and looked out the spyhole. There was a woman standing there. Beyond her, a car was parked in the street, its hood up.

Magneto opened the door. "Yes, madame? How may I help you?"

"Hi, sorry if I'm bothering you," the woman said, "but I was wondering if I could use your phone? My car just broke down and I wanted to call my auto club for a tow...unless you know something about fixing cars." She smiled, obviously a little embarrassed at her situation.

"Why? What's wrong with your car, ma'am?" Rogue asked, standing behind Magneto. "Maybe I can help."

"You know how to repair automobiles?" Magneto asked.

"I learned how as a kid," Rogue told him. "I had a lot of time on my hands."

"Well, why don't you take a look at the lady's vehicle and see if you can fix it? Then perhaps she can repay us by giving us a ride."

"Sure. Why not?" Rogue stepped outside with Magneto close behind her.

Mystique moved slightly to the her left to allow Rogue and Magneto to come out into the open. She kept her cool while keeping an eye on the two of them. _Damn it, why did you have to be here?_ she asked Rogue silently.

They were both out of the house. Mystique spoke softly into her mike: "Green for go." She drew two pistols hidden beneath her jacket.

"Freeze, Magneto—you're coming with us!" she said, aiming the guns at her former leader. Rogue turned, obviously caught by surprise and hesitant to attack an armed adversary. Magneto, however, reacted instinctively. He held out his hand and—to Mystique's surprise—took the guns away from her.

"He's active, repeat, he's active!" she said into her mike. Rogue took advantage of her distraction by catching the guns as Magneto brought them down within her reach. She aimed them at Mystique.

"You freeze, lady," she said. "You're not taking Mr. Lehnsherr anywhere."

"Wanna bet?" someone said in a menacing voice. Magneto turned towards the stairs leading up to the house. Sabertooth was stalking towards them, fangs bared and claws at the ready.

"Victor Creed, you think too highly of yourself sometimes," Magneto said. He held his left hand palm-out and Sabertooth was knocked off the stairs as if he had hit a brick wall. With that taken care of, he turned towards Mystique. "Now, my dear Mystique—time to give up the disguise and leave."

"Not just yet," Mystique answered.

"Oh, but I think you will be going," Magneto said. He made another gesture with his right hand, thinking he could use whatever metal Mystique was carrying to levitate her.

Nothing happened.

Magneto tried again.

Nothing happened.

"What's wrong, sir?" Rogue asked, concerned.

"Nothing," Mystique said, dashing forward and kicking one gun out of Rogue's hands. She caught it deftly and pointed it at Magneto's head. "Now hand that to me if you don't want anything untoward to happen."

"I don't understand—what happened?" Magneto asked, clearly bewildered by the sudden loss of his abilities once again.

"That would be me, sir," someone said. Two more mutants came up to the house to join Mystique. One was John Allerdyce, otherwise known as Pyro. The other was a man whose eyes were lit up with a reddish pulsing glow of light.

Rogue stepped in front of Magneto again, gun still at the ready. "I said nobody's taking him and that's final!" she cried out defiantly.

Sabertooth bounded up the stairs. "Let me take care of the girl, Mystique," he said. "Let's see how tough Logan's little friend is."

"Hey, hold on—we've got Magneto," Pyro spoke up. "I don't think we've got to hurt anyone anymore."

"She's got a gun, flame boy," Sabertooth pointed out, ready to pounce. "But not for long."

"Hold it!" Pyro approached Rogue. "Rogue, hand over the gun," he told her in what he hoped was a calm and rational voice.

"You're working with them, John?" she hissed, the disdain in her voice quite plain.

"It's not what you think," he said. "We've got DMA authorization. We're working for the government. I promise—nothing's going to happen to him. The new Mutant Affairs secretary wants him taken into custody alive."

"Is this true?" Magneto asked Mystique.

"It is," she answered him. "This is a government-sanctioned operation approved by President Cockrum himself. Dr. Windsor doesn't want you getting killed by anyone, pro- or anti-mutant."

"Enough talking already," Sabertooth growled. He advanced on Rogue. Pyro put himself between them. He ignited the miniature flamethrower on his left arm and created a small disc of flame in a warning gesture.

"Stop it—both of you," Mystique said. "Magneto..._Herr _Lehnsherr—please. No one has to get hurt. I'm asking you to come with us peacefully. Dr. Windsor wants peace between humans and mutants and he's asking for your help to achieve that. Please—come with us."

Magneto appeared to consider Mystique's offer. Rogue maintained a defensive posture. If need be, she could probably take out Sabertooth and the man with the pulsing eyes—even Pyro, if it came to that—before Mystique shot her.

"All right," Magneto finally said. "I'll go with you."

"What?" Rogue said. "Sir, they're going to arrest you!" The gun wavered momentarily and that was all that Mystique needed. She quickly disarmed Rogue.

"Okay, you heard the man," she said. "He's coming with us of his own free will. Pulse, Pyro—take him to the vehicle."

"Right." Pulse stepped forward, his eyes still alight. "This way, sir." He indicated the stairs leading to the sidewalk.

"No, sir—they're going to detain you at the DMA," Rogue pleaded. "They'll never let you out of there again."

"Rogue," he spoke to her softly, "I said I would go with them and I will. Don't worry about me, my dear. I always knew this time would come."

"But—but..." Rogue couldn't help her tears from forming. They slowly began running down her face. "What about your students? They need you."

"Mr. Caine will have to take care of them in the meantime," he said. "And you'll have to help him. You can't do that if you get detained as well."

Rogue cried helplessly. If she only had her powers...

Magneto took her aside. Mystique and her team watched them intently.

"Tell Storm and Wolverine what happened as soon as you return to the school," Magneto told her. "And inform Mr. Caine as quickly as you can. He'll be able to find me and keep track of how I'm doing. I'll send word through him as soon as he makes contact with me."

"Mr. Lehnsherr..." Rogue threw herself at him and embraced him, not wanting to let him go. In the time that they'd spent together, she had discovered that she had so much in common with Magneto. Slowly, she was learning to understand the man hidden beneath the mutant.

And now he was being taken away, possibly for good.

"Rogue, listen to me," Magneto told her gently. Mystique and the other mutants were surprised to hear him speaking in such a manner. "If this is a chance for peace to come about between humankind and mutantkind, then I believe that being arrested is a price I am willing to pay."

Rogue still wouldn't let go. She didn't care if they shot her right then and there; they'd have to pry her corpse off Magneto to take him into custody. Pyro approached her tentatively. "Rogue..."

"Rogue, look at me," Magneto said. Rogue looked up, tears streaming down from her eyes.

"Let me go, Rogue. Do this, if not for me, then for the memory of my friend and your teacher. Let me do my part to help make his dream come true."

Rogue looked him in the eye, wondering if he was actually serious.

Magneto looked right back at her, letting her know that he was.

With a sob, Rogue let him go. Pyro separated them. Mystique nodded. Pulse gestured towards the stairs. "This way, sir," he said respectfully. His eyes, however, were still glowing. Sabertooth produced a pair of hand restraints. Magneto offered his hands freely but Rogue protested: "What do you need those for? He's going with you, Creed!" Sabertooth glared at her but a sharp "Creed!" and a slight shake of the head from Mystique made him put the restraints away.

"Come on, let's go," he growled sullenly. Magneto went with the two mutants.

"Look, Rogue," Pyro told her, "I promise—nothing's going to happen to him while he's with us."

"He's only going to be with you until you hand him over to the DMA, John," Rogue retorted angrily. "I don't believe this—first you leave the school, then you betray Magneto. Don't you have any loyalty at all?"

"Hey—I didn't betray him," Pyro shot back. "Where he's going, he'll be safer than all those other mutants that were killed when one of your own went berserk at Worthington Labs."

"Just like you did at that clinic, right, John?" Rogue said. "I was there."

Pyro was unable to respond to that. The hard truth that he nearly killed Rogue stunned him into silence. Mystique took the opportunity to step in and halt the conversation.

"Pyro—go and check on Magneto," she ordered him. "Make sure that Creed hasn't killed him." He nodded and walked away with one last regretful look at Rogue.

"I could arrest you for interfering with our operation, you know," Mystique told her.

"Go ahead," Rogue said. "I'd rather go to jail with Magneto."

"Not today," Mystique said. "But if you or your other friends ever interfere in our work again, we'll be forced to consider you as hostile and dangerous." She laughed mirthlessly. "As if that was anything new for you X-Men."

"If you try to harm him, we're going to stop you," Rogue warned her.

Mystique tried to stare her down but Rogue didn't flinch. _Like mother, like daughter,_ she thought, smiling slightly.

"You can try," were her last words to Rogue before she turned her back to her and left.

"Wait a minute!" Rogue called after her.

"What now?" Mystique asked.

"Let me go with him," Rogue said. "Please—let me at least accompany him to the DMA."

"No," Mystique said. "And that's final."

Rogue grabbed Mystique's arm. She broke free and drew one of her guns. "I said 'no'. What part of that word don't you understand, Marie?" she said.

"What did you call me?" Rogue said. Her ears must have been playing tricks on her; what would Mystique know about her?

Mystique dropped the gun. "I called you Marie," she said, keeping her voice as even and as cool as possible. "The DMA has files on just about every known mutant in the United States. Now that we've settled that, we're leaving."

"No!" Rogue protested. "Bring me with you—I want to make sure that Magneto's going to be all right."

Mystique fixed a glare on her that would have made Sabertooth _and _Wolverine proud. It still didn't intimidate her.

"All right, damn you," Mystique said. "But I'll be keeping an eye on you." She took Rogue by the arm and pulled her stumbling down the stairs.

"Hey, flame boy, look—your girl's coming along," Sabertooth said. He was standing outside the armored truck where Magneto sat, awaiting his trip to the DMA.

"Shut up, Creed," Pyro said, glancing in Mystique's direction. She seemed to be dragging Rogue along, albeit unwillingly.

"What did you just say to me?" Sabertooth demanded, stepping towards Pyro.

"What did it sound like, furball?" Pyro replied.

"You lily-livered wimp, I'm oughtta—" Sabertooth said but Pulse wisely interjected himself between them.

"Now, now, gentlemen," he chided them, eyes alight, "we can't have any dissension in our ranks, can we?"

"I can kill you and him, bright eyes," Sabertooth warned him. "Don't think you can stop me."

"Gentlemen, Pulse is right," a long-haired, swarthy yet handsome-looking mutant said. "Besides, we haven't finished our job yet. Let's concentrate on that, what do you say?"

"Be glad you've got friends, flame boy," Sabertooth said.

"Otherwise I'd have roasted you," Pyro said.

"All right, break it up," Mystique told them. "Avalanche—you're driving. Creed, ride shotgun up front, Pyro take the middle with Stonewall. Pulse, you and I are sitting with our guests." She pushed Rogue into the back of the truck with Magneto. "Let's move!"

The other mutants entered the vehicle. In a matter of moments, the truck was on its way out of the neighborhood.

Dr. Robert Windsor was at his desk in the Mutant Affairs head office, reviewing several reports that had been faxed to him from various DMA facilities throughout the country. From what he read, reconstructing the databases from the clinics that were set up to administer the cure wouldn't be easy but not impossible. Recovery teams had retrieved the backup data-storage systems from the wreckage of the clinics that had been attacked during M-Day.

The phone rang. He pressed the speaker button absently, making notes in the margins of the document he was reading. "Hello?"

"Mr. Secretary," the person at the other end of the line said, "the target has been successfully acquired."

"Mystique?" Dr. Windsor asked, hardly daring to believe what he just heard. "Is that you?"

"Yes, Mr. Secretary," Mystique replied. "I repeat: target successfully acquired. We're at the airfield right now, preparing for takeoff."

"Excellent! Did you have any trouble?"

"Just a few. Oh—you might as well know: one of Professor Xavier's students is with him."

"Who?"

"Rogue."

Dr. Windsor was considering this information when Mystique asked: "You want us to get rid of her?"

"Wait..." He skimmed through the papers in front of him until he found what he was looking for. After a quick scan, he gave his answer: "No. Bring her with you. And make sure neither of them are harmed. This is very important, Mystique."

"Understood," Mystique replied. She ended the call.

Dr. Windsor allowed himself a few moments of reflection before he dialled the direct line to the White House.

"Good morning, Mr. President," he spoke once the White House switchboard had connected him to President Cockrum's office. "I have some good news that you might want to hear."

Rogue was saying goodbye to David when Mystique came up to her.

"Time's up," she said, taking the mobile phone in Rogue's hands away from her. "We've got a flight to catch."

"You don't have to be so mean, you know," Rogue said as Stonewall and Avalanche escorted them to the heliport.

"Who do you think I am—your mother?" was Mystique's retort. "I'm not supposed to be nice to you."

"I doubt if you'd ever make a good mother," Rogue remarked. Mystique pretended to ignore her word but to herself, she said: _Damn you, Xavier. Damn you for taking her away from me._

"Put her in the second chopper," Mystique ordered her men. She went towards another helicopter where Magneto was already seated inside.

"Wait a minute!" Rogue protested. "Where are you taking Mr. Lehnsherr?"

"Hold on, ma'am, don't you worry," Stonewall said politely. "You're going to see him again when we land at the DMA. For now, Mystique thinks it's safer for you to travel in another aircraft."

"This way, if any trouble happens," Avalanche added, "we can deal with it and make sure that Magneto gets to his destination."

Rogue glanced at the other chopper, trying to determine if Magneto was all right. He caught her eye and smiled almost imperceptibly. Rogue nodded, acknowledging his gesture. Then she boarded the other aircraft with her escorts watching her closely. Pyro was already inside. She ignored him throughout the entire flight, preferring to speak with Avalanche and Stonewall. Stonewall tried to include Pyro in the conversation but gave up when he realized that Rogue was still mad at him.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam Guthrie saw the giant robot stalking his teammates. Its back was turned to him so he arrowed towards it, intent on ramming through it like the piece of munitions he was named after: Cannonball.

That was when the robot turned and swatted him away with one blow. However, his attack had distracted it long enough for Roberto Dacosta to do a lower-altitude version of what Sam originally had in mind. The robot teetered backwards and tried to regain its balance. His teammate, Hisako Ichiki, knocked the robot down with an attack of her own.

"Nice move," Kitty Pryde remarked. She phased herself inside the robot. A few minutes later, she phased back out. "All done."

The robot disappeared and the battle-scarred city block that had surrounded them throughout the fight melted away as well. The youngsters were left standing in the Danger Room, the primary training facility for Professor Xavier's School For The Gifted. Sam got up from where he'd crashed and flew to Kitty's side. "What did you do?" he asked her.

"I just pulled his strings," Kitty said, "and he couldn't play anymore." She laughed.

"Nice—but I wouldn't exactly call it perfect," Wolverine said from the doorway. He was dressed in civilian clothes; Sam, Roberto, Kitty, and Hisako were clad in their black uniforms.

"Thanks for the compliment," Kitty said, knowing that Wolverine wasn't the type to give away his praise freely.

"You did all right, I have to admit," Wolverine told her. "So did you two." He nodded towards Roberto and Hisako. "But Sammy, I gotta say—that was careless. If you thought that Sentinel was going to just let you sneak up on it, you've got a lot to learn, kid."

"I guess so, sir," Sam admitted ruefully.

"You're lucky that thing didn't kill you," Wolverine continued. "Your blast field saved you. But luck doesn't hold forever. I want you to run that drill again. This time you've got _five_ minutes to complete it. And this time, Sammy—no more kamikaze runs, okay?"

"Yes, sir," Sam said.

"All right, on the alert!" Wolverine exited the Danger Room and returned to the control room. "Run that simulation again, Tom. Increase danger factor to intermediate."

Tom Corsi made the necessary adjustments. "All set, Logan."

"Start the drill." Wolverine watched the four youngsters on the bank of monitors. He was just about to point out something to Tom when he heard and small explosion behind him. He turned to see Nightcrawler, one of the newer additions to the school, emerge from out of nowhere.

"_Herr _Logan?"

"What is it, Kurt?" Wolverine asked, using Nightcrawler's real name.

"Storm wants you at the headmaster's office," he said. "You've got an important call waiting."

"Yeah? Okay." He went over to where Nightcrawler stood and put a hand on his shoulder. "Think you can take me there in a jiffy?"

"A jiffy, Logan?" Nightcrawler asked.

"He means he wants you to teleport him to the office, Kurt," Tom told him.

"Ah, I see. Of course," Nightcrawler said.

"Oh, and do me a favor—come back here and watch these kids while they train," Wolverine said. "Make sure that Sam over there doesn't pull any more kamikaze stunts."

"_Ja,_" Nightcrawler said. With another small explosion, the two of them teleported from the Danger Room.

Seconds later, Nightcrawler and Wolverine arrived at the headmaster's office. Storm was seated in front of the phone. She signalled Wolverine to stand by.

"Thanks, Kurt," he said.

Nightcrawler nodded and then teleported back to Danger Room Control.

"Rogue?" Storm spoke. "Are you still there?"

Rogue's voice came out of the speaker loud and clear. "Uh-huh. Is Wolverine there already?"

"Yeah, I'm here," Wolverine said. "What's going on?" He thought he could detect a bit of hesitation—maybe even worry or fear—in Rogue's voice.

Rogue spoke to someone in hushed tones. "Okay, I want you both to listen. Someone wants to speak with you."

"Go ahead," Storm told her.

Wolverine looked at Storm questioningly. She put a finger to her lips.

"Good morning, Storm," an unfamiliar voice said. "Good morning, Wolverine. My name is Dr. Robert Windsor and I'm the new secretary for Mutant Affairs."

"You're Dr. McCoy's replacement?" Storm asked.

"Yes," Dr. Windsor replied. "And I must say, it's an honor to be following in your illustrious comrade's footsteps."

"What's going on, doctor?" Wolverine wanted to know. "Why is Rogue with you?"

"I'll let her explain, Wolverine. My dear, would you please—?"

"Wolverine? It's Rogue..."

"What's going on, kid?" Wolverine asked impatiently.

"Okay, I'll make a long story short," Rogue began. "I'm at the DMA. I was brought here along with Magneto."

"Magneto is with you?" Storm interjected.

"He's under DMA custody. He was grabbed—or arrested, I guess—by Mystique and a team of mutants a few hours ago."

"Mystique?" Wolverine frowned as he mulled that over. "Who was with her?"

"Pyro...Sabertooth...three others. This is the first time I've seen them."

At the mention of Sabertooth's name, Wolverine's claws unsheathed themselves. "Did he hurt you?" he asked.

"No, no—we're both okay. I mean, Magneto's being held somewhere else and I'm here in the secretary's office but we aren't hurt." With a quiet note of pride, Rogue added: "Magneto and I didn't let them get us that easily. If it weren't for that other mutant with Mystique, we would've gotten away...Pulse is his name, I think...he can depower a mutant..."

"That's good," Wolverine said with a touch of pride in his voice that he hoped Rogue could hear.

Storm said: "Rogue, is Dr. Windsor still there? Let us speak with him."

"Hang in there—we'll come and get you. All right?" Wolverine added. His claws were still ready for action.

"Okay," Rogue said.

"As your friend just said herself, she hasn't been harmed," Dr. Windsor said. "And I assure you that I have no intention of harming her or Magneto, for that matter, unless it's to prevent them from harming anyone else within these premises or outside it, should they decide to escape. I hope you understand that."

"We do, doctor," Storm said. "So how long will Rogue be detained there?"

"I was hoping that she would leave of her own volition but she insists on staying with Magneto to ensure that he's treated properly. She doesn't trust us, I'm afraid."

"Can't blame her after what happened at Alcatraz," Wolverine remarked.

"Dr. McCoy didn't want that to happen, Wolverine. Neither did I. And I intend to make sure that such a thing never happens again."

"By arresting Magneto?" Wolverine didn't bother to hide his skepticism.

"He's not under arrest," Dr. Windsor explained. "I merely want to discuss the current state of mutant and human affairs with him. I believe he's in a position to bring about what Dr. McCoy and myself, not to mention the late Professor Xavier, want fervently to happen."

"And what might that be, Dr. Windsor?" Storm asked.

"Peace, Storm," Dr. Windsor answered. "Peace between man- and mutantkind."

"What's on your mind, Logan?" Storm asked as they walked towards the school's assembly hall.

"Part of me wants to get in the Blackbird and get Rogue out of there now," Wolverine replied.

"What about what Windsor said? About wanting to make peace between mutants and humans?"

"Nice speech. Short too. I don't know if I believe him, though."

"Hank said that Windsor wasn't the anti-mutant type."

"Hank's over at the U.N. We're in the trenches."

"He was in the trenches with us at Alcatraz."

Wolverine stopped to face Storm. "Look, Storm," he said, "I wouldn't get my hopes up so much with this Windsor guy. McCoy handpicked him as his successor and he probably does mean well but I don't see the government being so nice to mutants nowadays or anytime soon."

"But it's a start, isn't it?" Storm said. "If we intend to continue Professor Xavier's work, then I think this is the opportunity that we've been waiting for."

"Opportunity? Opportunity for what?" Wolverine laughed. "He's got Magneto at the DMA. Mystique and Creed are government agents now. What kind of an opportunity is that? Looks to me like there's going to be more trouble ahead."

At that moment, Storm felt like driving Wolverine into the wall behind him with a lightning bolt. He had a talent for making a person feel naïve, stupid, and small all at the same time when his cynicism reared its head. "What kind of trouble would that be?" she asked, controlling herself with an effort.

"Government-authorized mutants hunting down and arresting outlaw mutants," Wolverine said. "That's pretty obvious, isn't it?"

"I wonder what's going on?" Kitty asked no one in particular as she and her fellow students gathered in the assembly hall.

"Probably some kind of announcement," Jimmy—the mutant known as Leech—said. He was one of the younger members of the student body, having started only this year at the school. He'd stuck close to Kitty and she regarded him as a kind of little brother.

"Could be," Kitty remarked, ruffling Jimmy's hair. Kitty had convinced him to let his hair grow out again as a way to get over his past. Not so long ago, Jimmy had been part of an experiment to find a cure for genetic mutations. Kitty and the X-Men had helped him escape from the lab where he was being held (at no small danger to themselves) and now he was under their care.

"Hey, Kitty." Bobby Drake sat down next to her. "Hi, Jimmy—how's class?"

"Fine, Mr. Drake," Jimmy replied. Bobby smiled. It was one of those idiosyncrasies that Jimmy had—if he thought that someone was older than he was, he automatically called them mister or miss.

"Jimmy, remember: it's just Bobby," he told him with a chuckle. "Mr. Drake is what they call my dad."

"Okay, Mr Drake," Jimmy said. "I mean, Bobby. Sorry about that."

"That's okay, Jimmy."

"Where's Marie?" Kitty asked.

"I don't know," Bobby replied. "Wolverine and Storm have been letting her come and go as she pleases, for some reason or another. It's like she's not even part of the school anymore."

"Bobby, come on," Kitty said reproachfully. "You know what she's been through and why she did it." Rogue was the one student in the entire school who'd taken the so-called mutant cure that had been created from Jimmy's DNA. She returned after a while and seemed to be getting along well with the other students even though she was no longer a mutant. She was well aware of her responsibilities as a senior and fulfilled those responsibilities with the same dedication she applied since she was a first-termer at the school. She also resumed her relationship with Bobby (against her will, Kitty felt a stab of pain at that thought) and they looked happy together. But there were moments when Rogue would retreat into a world of her own. Wolverine and Storm cut her some slack by allowing her to travel freely in and out of the school. Sometimes, she would accompany Tom Corsi—the only staff member who came closest to being a "normal" human—on school-related business in the city. More often than not, though, she went out alone.

Bobby sighed. "Yeah, I know. I just wish..."

Kitty laid her hand on his. "Give it a chance, Bobby. Just let her work it out, you know?"

He gave her hand a grateful squeeze. "Yeah, I know. Thanks." He looked behind him and saw Colossus and Nightcrawler standing at the back of the hall. They had serious looks on their faces.

"Pete doesn't look too happy about whatever we're about to hear," he whispered to Kitty. Kitty glanced back and saw the expression Kurt wore and decided that Bobby was right.

"I don't think we're in for some good news," she said. Jimmy gave her a worried look. "Hey, be cool, Jimmy. Me and Bobby won't let anything happen to you."

_What's going on, Kitty?_ she heard someone's voice ask softly in her head. It sounded like Mindee, one of the telepathic Cuckoo triplets.

_I haven't the slightest idea, Mindee,_ Kitty replied.

_And I thought you were tight with Logan and Miss Munroe,_ another of the Cuckoos—Celeste, judging from her telepathic tone of voice—said.

_The only one she's tight with is the one sitting beside her,_ added the third Cuckoo, Phoebe.

_Hey—not fair. I really don't know, okay?_ Kitty shot back. She'd never really gotten along well with Celeste and Phoebe. Both of them couldn't care less that Kitty was a year ahead of them. Sure, they were talented but that didn't give them the right to be so stuck up. Mindee was the only one of the three who was friends with her and most of the other people at the school. They'd gotten close when she had comforted Mindee following the death of her boyfriend, who was human, at the hands of an anti-mutant mob whom he'd tried to reason with during the height of the mutant-cure frenzy.

_Okay. Sorry about my sisters._ That was Mindee.

_It's all right, Mindee,_ Kitty said. Instead of apologizing, however, Celeste and Phoebe gave her the telepathic equivalent of a raspberry.

"Hmph," Kitty said, her good mood somewhat soured.

"What is it?" Jimmy asked.

"Nothing," Kitty told him. "Just thinking out loud." She threw a glance at the Cuckoos. They were holding a conversation among themselves; Mindee was obviously admonishing them for being mean to her. Celeste and Phoebe looked bored. So did the other students. Their attention, however, picked up when Wolverine and Storm entered the hall.

Wolverine spoke first: "All right, listen up—we've got some news that you're better off hearing from us first."

An expectant silence fell upon the students. Kitty leaned forward unconsciously. Bobby briefly wondered once more where Rogue was.

"Magneto has been arrested by a DMA team led by Mystique," Wolverine continued. "They brought him to the DMA headquarters and that's where he's being held temporarily." He gave the floor to Storm.

"Along with Magneto, one of our senior-year students had been taken to the DMA," she said.

"Who is it?" Theresa Cassidy asked. Wolverine winced slightly. Even though Theresa kept her voice at a normal volume, there was still some auditory backwash that reached his sensitive ears. Her ability to turn her voice into a sonic scream, among other things, gave her the code name Siryn.

Storm paused and looked at Wolverine. He shrugged slightly, knowing that there was no use keeping the answer from the students anyway.

"It's Rogue—" was all she could say before the students erupted into howls or protest and cries of outrage.

Bobby stood up. "What are we doing here then?" he demanded, shouting to make himself heard above the din. When that didn't work, he shook off a restraining hand by Kitty and actually stepped up to face Storm. The other students quieted down and watched the confrontation brewing before them.

"Why aren't we out there rescuing her?" Bobby asked. "If she's been arrested—"

"Calm down, Robert," Storm told him. "We've got—"

"We've got to rescue her is what we've got to do!"

"Hey—pipe down," Wolverine said, stepping forward. "You're out of line, Bobby."

"Logan, Rogue's in trouble, we've got to rescue her, come on!"

"Bobby, sit down—Storm's not through speaking, okay?" Wolverine's stare bored right into Bobby's eyes. Colossus was already standing close by to prevent any hostilities from taking place.

"Bobby, come on," Colossus said. "Sit down and let Storm finish." He laid a huge hand on Bobby's shoulder. "Come on, _tovarisch._"

It took several moments but Bobby finally calmed down. "Okay, I'm sorry," he said.

"All right, Robert," Storm said. "Don't worry. Just let me finish."

He went back to his seat wordlessly. The relief in both Kitty's and Jimmy's eyes were plain for him to see. Colossus took up his position at the back once again.

"As I was saying," Storm said, "Rogue was taken into custody with Magneto but they're both being treated well, according to her. Wolverine and I spoke with her over the phone and, from what she's told us, we're certain that she's unharmed and that she's not being held under duress.

"Dr. Robert Windsor, the new head of the DMA, has assured us that Rogue may leave at any time she wishes. However, she has refused to leave since she apparently wishes to verify that Magneto will be treated fairly and humanely."

"What the—?" "Is she crazy?" "No way!" and other expressions of disbelief came from the students upon hearing of Rogue's decision.

"Rogue is actually worried about Magneto?" Bobby said. "What the heck is she thinking?"

"That's the way she is, Bobby," Kitty said. "She doesn't like seeing other people getting the short end of the stick, regardless of how bad others think they are."

"That's still nuts, if you ask me," said Ben Hammil, who sat to the left of Bobby. "No offense, Bobby, but you've gotta wonder why your girl was even hanging out with Magneto to begin with." He shook his head, the flaming aura surrounding it waving gently. The other students called him "hothead" as a joke but his real code name was Match.

Bobby was about to tell Ben to mind his own business but then realized that he had a point. What was Rogue doing with Magneto anyway?

Somehow, Storm got through her announcement. She and Wolverine were on their way back to the headmaster's office when Bobby ran up to them, Kitty and Jimmy in tow.

"What is it, Robert?" Storm asked.

"What was Rogue doing with Magneto?" Bobby wanted to know. "Why was she with him?"

"We don't know," Storm told him. "She didn't tell us why."

"Look, Bobby, we've got to make a few more calls," Wolverine said, "but I think we're going to get Rogue back within the day. Just hang in there."

"She's coming back, right?"

"Yes, Robert, she is," Storm said. Then she and Wolverine left him to discuss their next course of action..

"See?" Kitty said. "What are you worried about?"

"Rogue will come back, Bobby," Jimmy told him, taking his hand. "Come on—you've still got classes to attend."

"Jimmy's right," Kitty said. "You can't do anything to help Rogue right now. And in case you're wondering—no, I'm not going to hijack the Blackbird and fly her out of the DMA."

"Besides," Jimmy added, "Storm and Wolverine will expel the three of us if we do that."

"The three of us?" Bobby asked.

"Make that four, little guy," someone else said. Bobby looked behind him. It was Ben Hammil. "Okay, maybe more than four," he amended his statement. He cocked a thumb at the other students behind him. Bobby saw Megan Gwynn, Nick Gleason, and Hope Abbott.

"Sorry for mouthing off a while ago, Bobby," Ben said. "If you got a plan to get Rogue out of there, count us in."

"Rogue is a friend of ours too, Bobby," Megan told him. "We're not letting the DMA lock her up forever." Nick growled his assent. Hope smiled, ready to go once her classmates said the word.

"Did someone say something about breaking Rogue out of the DMA?" Roxy Washington walked over to the group bunched outside the assembly hall. Sidney Green accompanied her. "Cool—when do we go?" Sidney popped his knuckles expectantly.

"I don't think we'll have to do that," Jimmy said. "Bobby's not going to attack the DMA."

"Yeah," Kitty said. "Besides, Storm and Wolverine told us to wait. And that's what we're going to do. Rogue's going to be all right."

"And how do you know that?" Ben asked.

Kitty's reply was honest: "Okay, so I don't know if Rogue's going to be all right. But she's not going to be any better if we go and do something crazy like storming the DMA."

The other students thought that over. Sidney, Roxy, Ben, and Nick still expressed their doubts that the DMA would let Rogue go but Hope and Megan argued that Kitty was correct in pointing out that a rash course of action would not benefit Rogue at all.

Jimmy ended the debate simply enough: "We all care about Rogue so let's not do anything that might hurt her, please, Bobby?"

"Okay, Jimmy, you win," Bobby said. "Let's go." He let Jimmy lead him away. The other students watched them leave quietly and then broke up to go to their respective classes.

"Well, that didn't go so bad, did it?" Wolverine commented. Storm plopped herself down into the nearest available chair in the headmaster's office.

"The next time we've got news like that to deliver, I think I'll let you handle it," she said, closing her eyes and rubbing her temples. "Sometimes I wonder whether or not I made the right decision to take Professor Xavier's place."

"Nah, you did okay," Wolverine reassured her. "Besides, I think he had you in mind all the while instead of Scott."

"Scott—we could really use him here now."

"Yeah, don't I know it."

Storm stood up and went to the window overlooking the garden where Professor Xavier, Scott Summers, and Jean Grey were buried. "I don't know, Logan...I wish the Professor was still alive...he'd be able to handle this situation easily."

Wolverine approached her and stood next to her, looking down at the three monuments below. "Yeah, I know what you mean, Storm. We lost a good man"—_and one good woman,_ his mind added—"okay, two good men. We're still here, though. And the school's still standing."

"I miss them, Logan," Storm whispered, choking back a sob unsuccessfully.

Wolverine put an arm around her and she accepted it, weeping silently. Wolverine held her gently.

"I miss them too, Storm, God knows I do," he said. _One in particular,_ his mind spoke up again. He forced himself to ignore the pain that bit into his heart. He let Storm cry, resisting the impulse to cry himself. "There ain't a day that goes by that I don't wake up thinking that I'll see Scott working on his chopper in the garage, Jean teaching the kids, and the Professor welcoming in some new students. Oh, yeah—and Rogue will be arguing with Bobby because he tried something crazy in the Danger Room."

"Yeah...those were good days, weren't they?" Storm said softly.

"The best," Wolverine said. He paused, then told her to look him straight in the eye.

"Like I said before we went off to Alcatraz, I'm not about to let what Scott, Jean, and the Professor stood for die," he told her in his serious tone of voice. "And that means we've got to do the best we can to lead the school and make sure that we don't lose anymore good people. You got that, Storm?"

Storm wiped the tears from her face and nodded. "I got it." They stood together face to face for a long moment and then realized that they were probably just a little too close to each other. Wolverine took a step back.

"Now we have to figure out what to do with Rogue," he said quickly to fill in the awkward silence that would have come between them. "If she's really going to stay there to watch over Magneto..."

"She probably will," Storm said. Just then the phone rang. Wolverine went to the headmaster's desk and activated the speaker. Storm steadied herself for whatever news might be coming.

"State your business," he spoke tersely.

"Hello, Wolverine," David Caine said through a small burst of static. "How are you guys holding up there? Sorry for the noise—I'm out in the field"

"We can hear you loud and clear, David, " Wolverine said. "We're doing just about the same as usual. I hope you've got some good news for us."

"You might call it that," David said. "I was able to speak with someone who might be able to help Rogue out."

"Called in a few favors, huh?" Wolverine asked.

"Yeah. But then, it's worth it, all things considered." David paused. "Besides, it's a long story but this mess Rogue's in is kind of my fault."

"I know. You can fill in Storm and the others when you drop by again."

"_If_ I'm allowed to drop by there again after this," David said, trying to make a joke.

"Get Rogue out of this jam and I'll let you in myself," Wolverine told him. He knew that David had a special affinity for Rogue. There was no need to remind him how important it was to get her back safe and sound. "So who's the contact, David?"

"You may have heard of him—his name is Lucas Bishop."

Storm sat up. "Lucas Bishop? From the FBI?" she asked.

"That's correct, Storm," David told her. "He's the Bureau's liaison to the DMA. I rang him up as soon as I heard from Rogue. He told me he's heading for the DMA right now. Apparently, the new secretary informed his superiors so they told them to go and keep an eye on the situation there as it unfolds. He'll check up on Rogue and expedite her release."

"Agent Bishop is a good man," Storm commented. "I'm glad he's helping us out."

"That he is, Storm. You should know." Storm blushed at that remark. She and Bishop had a past together, brief though it may have been. "When will he contact us?" she asked.

"As soon as he gets to see Rogue and Magneto, he'll call you," David continued. "Stand by until then. Oh, one more thing—Wolverine, Zee's on her way to the school. I passed the word on to her and since she's got nothing on her schedule right now and she likes working with you, she said she was interested in helping you guys out. Sorry I can't do anything more. When I get back from this job that Colonel Fury assigned to me—"

"Don't worry, Danger Zone," Wolverine told him, calling him by his code name, "that's already a lot of help you've given us."

"All right, Commander Logan—I mean, Logan. I'll see what else I can do. Maybe Colonel Fury can pitch in a bit. Over and out for now." The conversation ended with a crackle of electronic interference and a digital beep.

"Well, that's a positive development," Storm noted. "I suppose this gives some time to plan out an alternative strategy in case Rogue is kept there indefinitely."

"Yeah, I guess so." Wolverine lit up a cigar and took a reflective puff. "Let's get Kurt, Pete, and Tom in on this too. I'll brief Zee when she arrives."

* * *


	4. Chapter 4

Rogue tried looking out the window and opening the door for what was probably the tenth time since she'd been put inside what she was starting to think of as the waiting room.

The intercom built into the security lock beside the door came to life: "Yes, ma'am? Is there anything you want?" a disembodied voice asked.

_Yeah, I want to find Magneto and get out of this place, _Rogue wanted to say. _It's giving me the creeps._ Instead she asked: "When am I going to see Magneto?"

"He's still being debriefed, ma'am," the voice replied.

"Debriefed?" Rogue asked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Sorry, ma'am—that's confidential."

"Blow it out your ear," Rogue muttered before stepping away from the door. She sat down on the couch and idly picked up one of the magazines on the table in front of her. There was an article about the first time Magneto surfaced as a major threat to national security. She remembered that all too well: Magneto had intended to use her to power a machine that would have mutated the entire populace of New York, maybe even the entire East Coast. Fortunately, the X-Men had come to her rescue.

There was a beep from the intercom a few minutes later: "You've got a visitor, ma'am."

"Who is it?" she wanted to know.

Another voice answered her: "It's Lucas Bishop, Rogue. May I come in?"

"Lucas Bishop—?" Rogue took a moment but she remembered. "Agent Bishop?"

"Yes."

"Let him in."

The light on the security lock turned green. The door opened and one of the DMA's employees entered with a tray of food and drink. Lucas Bishop followed close behind him. He was pretty much as Rogue remembered him to be: tall, dark, somewhat handsome (even if he'd given up his long, braided hair), and definitely intimidating. The DMA employee set the tray down on the larger table and then spoke briefly with Bishop. He didn't respond but simply nodded in acknowledgment of whatever he'd been told. Then he and Rogue were left to themselves.

"Make yourself at home, Agent Bishop," Rogue said with a voice dripping with sarcasm for any eavesdroppers to hear.

"Thank you," Bishop said. He drew a chair up to where Rogue sat. Apparently, he either ignored the tone of her remark or didn't get it. Rogue knew that humor wasn't Bishop's strong suit so she decided to let it slide. "How have they been treating you so far?" he asked.

"Fine," Rogue answered. "I got my one phone call and now I'm locked up for the next twenty-four hours, I guess, since I didn't get a lawyer."

"You don't need a lawyer, Rogue, " Bishop told her. "It's not as if you've been thrown in jail."

"Yeah? Could've fooled me." Rogue got up and went over to the table to see what kind of food was brought in. Coffee and sandwiches. _No fried rice,_ Rogue thought, remembering the times when David would cook dinner for the two of them. She poured two cups and handed one to Bishop.

"Thank you," Bishop said. He sipped the beverage. All it had going for it was that it was hot, he found out to his dismay. No government agency in existence ever had its employees raving about the house coffee.

"Have you found out where they're keeping Magneto?" Rogue asked as she returned to the couch.

"He's in a holding area on-site," Bishop told her. "I haven't seen him yet—"

"I want to see him," Rogue said, cutting him off.

"I'm working on that. For now, I think it would be better if you went back—"

"I'm not leaving until I see him, Agent Bishop."

"I know you want to make sure he's safe, Rogue, but right now, there's nothing you can do. I'll drive you back to the school." Bishop rose to indicate that what he said wasn't a suggestion but an order.

Rogue didn't allow herself to be intimidated. "You go ahead and drive over to the school. But first let me make a list of things I want you to bring back." She took the pad and marker that had been left on the table for her use. She began to write down the items she needed.

"Rogue, this isn't helping your situation in any way," Bishop admonished her.

"And leaving Magneto will?" she said. She reviewed her list and then made a few more additions. She tore off the sheet of paper and held it out to Bishop.

"Here you go," she told him. "Just hand it to Kitty Pryde or to Storm. They'll pack it up for you."

Bishop didn't take the list. "You're being very stubborn today," he remarked flatly.

"I'm not the only one," Rogue said. "Everyone here is being stubborn. I just want to see Magneto."

"Just out of curiosity, would you mind if I ask why you're so concerned about Magneto?" Bishop asked.

"I just want to make sure he's all right, okay?" Rogue replied. "It's not as if I'm going to help him break out of here, you know."

Bishop didn't respond. He looked at her, trying to find out just how determined she was to follow through with her decision.

"Fine," Rogue told him. She folded the list and put it under her cup. "I'm used to sleeping in the same clothes for more than one day." She stretched out on the couch and closed her eyes.

"I'll see what I can do," Bishop finally said. "But _if_ you get to speak with Magneto, you're going back to the school. Do we have a deal?"

"We do, Agent Bishop." Rogue sat up and held out her hand. Bishop took it, shaking it briefly. He went over to the intercom.

"Bishop here," he said. "I'm going out." The intercom responded affirmatively and the door was unlocked. Bishop exited the room. Rogue watched him leave and then closed her eyes again. She fell asleep a short while later.

Bishop was taken to see Dr. Windsor when he mentioned Rogue's request to the DMA agents in charge of Magneto.

"Is this her only request with regards to her voluntary departure, Mr. Bishop?" the Mutant Affairs secretary asked.

"It seems to be, Mr. Secretary," Bishop replied. "She's fully prepared to stay here until she's given the opportunity to see Magneto face-to-face and speak with him again."

"Do you believe that she's doing this under Magneto's influence, Mr. Bishop?" Dr. Windsor knew that the FBI agent was well aware of the charisma that Magneto had over a large sector of mutantkind. He supposed that Rogue wasn't that easily swayed by Magneto's words since she was a student of Professor Xavier; still, underestimating Magneto's ability to persuade people to join his cause was one of the reasons why the government had such a difficult time bringing him to ground.

"I don't think so, Mr. Secretary. I admit it's entirely possible that she may be under his control but it's highly unlikely in this instance. I believe that she's sincerely concerned with Magneto's welfare." Bishop paused to polish the lens of his sunglasses. "I see no harm in granting her request. She's made it quite clear that she has no intention of aiding him in any sort of escape attempt. And, of course, it would go a long way towards convincing the rest of mutantkind that the DMA is genuinely dedicated in pursuing a policy of respect and tolerance towards them."

Dr. Windsor silently considered Bishop's opinion, weighing his other available options as well. Finally, he made a decision. He called in the DMA agents who were watching over Magneto and Rogue. There were three of them: one female and two males.

"Miss Rhodes, Mr. Mendoza, Mr. Salvador—I'm giving Mr. Bishop the authorization to allow our guest, Rogue, to make contact with Magneto. They will be allowed to see and speak with each other face-to-face in one of our holding areas. Mr. Bishop will be the only one allowed inside the holding area during their meeting and he will guarantee that no untoward incidents will take place. The three of you will provide security in the even that an escape attempt does take place.

"Do you have any questions?"

"Yes, sir," Agent. Mendoza said. "What if Rogue and Magneto _do_ attempt to escape?"

"Then you're expected to prevent that from taking place, Mr. Mendoza," Dr. Windsor said. "Are there any other questions?"

"This seems a bit risky, sir," Agent Salvador said.

"I understand your concerns, Mr. Salvador, but we have to trust Mr. Bishop's judgment on this since his familiarity with both Rogue and Magneto is greater than ours."

There were no further comments or questions. The three DMA agents led Bishop back to Rogue's room.

"What happened?" she asked as soon as he stepped inside the room.

"The secretary agreed with my opinion that granting your request wouldn't cause any trouble," Bishop told her. "I hope that you won't make a liar out of me."

"I won't," Rogue assured him. "Are we going to see Magneto now?"

"Shortly," Bishop said. "For now, we wait a little longer."

_That's what I've been doing since Magneto and I were separated,_ Rogue thought. She decided not to speak her mind, though.

"Don't you want to eat anything?" Bishop asked. "You must be hungry." He unwrapped one of the sandwiches on the tray and took a bite. A look of distaste flashed across his face but he forced himself to eat the portion he'd taken.

"I'm not that hungry, Agent Bishop," Rogue said, trying to keep herself from laughing.

"It's not that bad," Bishop said. He put the sandwich down and poured himself another cup of coffee. After the sandwich, the coffee actually tasted better.

The intercom chimed and then Agent Rhodes spoke: "Agent Bishop, everything has been prepared."

"All right, Agent Rhodes," Bishop responded. "We're on our way." He looked at Rogue. "Come on."

"Who was that?" Rogue asked, putting on her jacket. "She sounds like a female vampire from a bad horror movie."

"One of the DMA agents in charge of Magneto's case."

The door opened automatically. Agents Mendoza and Salvador were waiting outside. As they made their way to where Magneto was being held, Rogue looked around and took note of the fact that the closest they came to being outside was when they crossed a bridgeway to another building. Other than that, they never exited the DMA headquarters. The other DMA personnel they saw along the way didn't seem to notice them.

The final leg of their journey was conducted via a guarded elevator. There were four DMA security personnel inside the car along with them and Rogue saw that they were armed with weapons that were modified to fire darts instead of bullets. She had no doubt that those darts were loaded with the anti-mutagen.

A short walk later, they were standing in front of an unmarked room that looked similar from the outside to the one where Rogue had been kept. There was a security lock with an intercom to the left of the doors. On the door itself, however, was another lock—much larger and more secure. There was a lever that allowed the door to be opened manually but it was fixed immovably across the door. It made Rogue think of bank vaults.

Standing beside the doors were two silent DMA security men. Their commander was speaking with Agent Rhodes and Bishop. Rogue tried to maintain her patience.

Bishop turned towards Rogue and told her to come forward. The security detail commander looked at her with a critical eye and then frisked her with a clinical efficiency. He divested her of anything metal and placed it in a plastic box which he locked. Agent Mendoza took it.

"All right," he told Rogue, "I'll repeat what I told Agent Rhodes and Agent Bishop. You'll be allowed to make contact and speak with Magneto but under no circumstances are you allowed to give him anything or take anything from him. Your conversation will be recorded and the security detail in charge of this area will be monitoring you visually at all times.

"Should you or _anyone _for that matter"—the security commander eyed Bishop briefly—"aid Magneto in any attempt to escape, we're allowed to use deadly force or any other means necessary to stop you.

"Do you have any questions?"

Rogue shook her head. Bishop just looked at the man steadily, making him flinch slightly.

"Agent Rhodes, witness that neither of the visiting parties has no further questions about the arrangements."

"Yes, Commander Terell," Agent Rhodes said.

"All right, let them inside," Commander Terell told the two guards. The guards silently went about opening the door. Commander Terell gestured at Bishop and Rogue to go inside. They did and found themselves in a short corridor. The main door was shut behind them.

"A bit of an overkill," Bishop commented. Rogue agreed.

"Step forward until you reach the end of the corridor," Commander Terell said through the intercom system mounted along the corridor's length. "You're going to be scanned for any weaponry or devices that you may have brought along, intentionally or otherwise."

They did as they were told. "He's a little bit paranoid, isn't he?" Rogue remarked.

"I guess it's what they pay him for," Bishop said.

They reached the end of the corridor and stood before another door. This had much smaller security devices built into it. The devices were deactivated and the two entered the room.

Magneto was waiting inside. When he saw who was with Bishop, he cried out in surprise: "Rogue! What are you still doing here?"

Rogue ran up to him and embraced him, as if to assure herself that he was actually there in the flesh.

"Mr. Lehnsherr, thank God you're all right!" she said. She looked up at him, smiling happily. "They've been treating you well, right? They haven't hurt you or anything, have they?"

"No, Rogue, they haven't," Magneto assured her. He smiled right back at her. "And the same may be said of you, I take it? They haven't harmed you, have they?"

"No, I'm okay, although their coffee isn't exactly all that great," Rogue said. "Neither are their sandwiches."

"I know what you mean," Magneto said. "Although, I must admit, I've had worse in my time."

"That's what I told her too," Bishop said.

"Agent Lucas Bishop..." Magneto regarded him with a respectful nod. He freed himself from Rogue's embrace and went up to her companion. "I thank you for looking after Rogue." He held out his hand. Bishop shook it, despite the fact that it could be interpreted as a violation of security regulations. _Oh, well,_ he thought. _Let Terell worry about it. It's his job anyway._

"It was no problem, Mr. Lehnsherr," Bishop said.

"Excellent. Now, let's sit down so that we can discuss our situation." Magneto gestured towards the nearby table. Rogue sat down facing him. Bishop took a chair and sat with his back to the door.

"What have you been told, Rogue?" Magneto asked.

"Well, the secretary—that's Dr. Windsor, right?—told me that I could leave anytime I wanted. Agent Bishop was sent here to take me back to the school."

"But you didn't want to leave?"

"No, sir—not until I found out what happened to you."

"That's very good of you. Did they tell you what's to become of me?"

"Dr. Windsor said that he wanted to speak with you, to see if you can help him find a way to bring peace to mutants and humans. He was speaking with Wolverine and Storm when he said that. He allowed me to call the school."

"Did he now?" Magneto thought about that for a moment.

"What did they tell you, sir?" Rogue asked.

"Interestingly enough, the agents who spoke with me—I assume they're listening in to this conversation—assured me that my rights would be respected while I was being held here," Magneto replied. "They questioned me about my activities, of course, although they seemed to be interested mainly in my encounters with you and Charles' other students."

"Have they mentioned anything about your release?"

"Unfortunately, no—all they seem to know about that is that Dr. Windsor wishes to speak with me first. I assume the outcome of our dialogue will determine whether or not I'm to be set free."

"Is that true?" Rogue asked Bishop, who'd remained silent up to that point.

"I wasn't informed of that, Rogue," Bishop said. "All Dr. Windsor said was that you would be allowed to meet Magneto and then I would escort you back to the school."

"But what happens to him afterwards?" Rogue wanted to know.

"Probably what I've already told you," Magneto interjected. "If I'm considered a threat by Dr. Windsor, it's likely I'll be held here. If I can convince him that I'm no longer a threat, then I'll be released. Or so I assume."

"That's illegal!" Rogue objected. "What are they going to hold you here for?"

"A lot of things," Bishop told her. He looked Magneto squarely. "Isn't that right, sir?"

"Agent Bishop is correct," Magneto said. "My reputation alone would be enough of an excuse to detain me indefinitely. Add to that my past actions and you can see why the DMA would find it convenient, if not altogether justifiable, to keep me here."

"Mr. Lehnsherr...your powers still work don't they?" Rogue asked, ignoring the warning look that Bishop and Magneto threw at her. She didn't care if Terell and his guards came and took her away on the slightest suspicion that she was asking Magneto to break out of detention.

"Yes, they do—but I do not intend to use them," Magneto told her firmly.

"Then what are you going to do?" Rogue could barely contain her disbelief. She hadn't expected Magneto, of all people, to resign himself to spending his days in DMA detention. "You're not just going to let them lock you up here, are you?"

Magneto answered her in a voice so calm that it was almost frightening to Rogue: "If I were to use my powers to escape along with the other mutants here and then gather an army to rise up against the DMA, it would serve no other purpose but to cause the loss of a great many lives, mutant and human alike." He paused reflectively and Rogue saw a great sorrow descend upon him like a crushing weight. "Then there would be no chance for peace for all of us."

"Allowing yourself to be detained here for the rest of your life isn't going to bring peace," Rogue replied. "There are some mutants who would refuse to accept that, and I don't just mean me or the X-Men."

"Then I would ask you and, if given the opportunity, anyone else who is concerned with my welfare not to resort to any drastic measures in my name."

"But Mr. Lehnsherr—this just isn't right. To spend the rest of your life here...what good would that do?"

"Truthfully, I cannot say yet what may come from all this," Magneto said. "But I've made my choice and I intend to abide by it, Rogue. I hope you can understand that." He addressed Bishop: "Agent Bishop, I wish to thank you once again for looking after Rogue. Please keep her safe on your trip to the school." With that, Magneto rose from the table and shook hands with the FBI agent.

He then faced Rogue. She rose slowly, unable to accept that this could very well be the last time she would ever see him. Her self-control slowly gave way to the onrush of sadness in her heart.

The hurtful look Magneto saw on her face pierced him like a double-edged sword but he forced himself not to be overcome by his emotions. He drew her close and put his arms around her. He remembered Maya, remembered their last days together. His pain then had been great when he had let her go. He knew that Rogue was feeling much the same way now.

"Thank you, my dear Anne Marie," he whispered to her, "for allowing me to remember who I once was and whom I once felt I could never be again. You and your friends have done me a far greater good than you could possibly imagine."

A sob escaped Rogue. Her body shook as she wept in Magneto's embrace. Eventually, he let go of her. Then he undid something at the back of his neck. Rogue saw that it was the necklace Maya had given him when they returned her to her home in the Amazon. Those were the days that she truly began to see the person that Magneto hid away beneath his steely exterior.

"What...but this is...from Maya, Mr. Lehnsherr," Rogue protested.

"I keep Maya where she'll never be gone, Rogue." He laid a hand over his heart. "I want you to keep that for me—to remember me."

Rogue took the necklace. The single stone of polished jade gleamed softly under the lights.

"Go now, Rogue," he told her. "You must return to where you belong and where you're needed."

"I won't...I won't forget you, Mr. Lehnsherr," Rogue managed to say.

"Nor will I forget you, Rogue." Magneto brushed the tears away from her face. "And who knows? Perhaps we may see each other again."

Rogue took his hand and extended his little finger. Magneto watched her with a puzzled look on his face as she wrapped her little finger around his.

"What's this about?" he asked.

"It's a promise," she told him simply. "I'll give Maya's necklace back to you—when we see each other again."

When they came out of the holding area, Agents Mendoza, Salvador, and Rhodes were waiting for them. Commander Terell immediately confronted her.

"I thought I told you not to accept anything from—" he started to say but Bishop held out his hand to stop him.

"It was a gift, Mr. Terell," he told the DMA security officer. "That's all it was." He looked at Terell hard, daring him to object.

"All right, I'll let it slide this time," the security detail commander said. "Give her back her personal effects."

Agent Mendoza handed Rogue the plastic box with her things in it. Commander Terell unlocked it so that she could gather them up and put them away.

"This way," Agent Rhodes said. "We'll take you to your car, Agent Bishop."

Rogue took one last glance back at where Magneto was being held before she left, thinking to herself, _A promise is a promise, Mr. Lehnsherr._

They got into Bishop's car and drove out of the DMA complex before either of them said anything.

Bishop handed her a mobile phone. "Go ahead," he told her, "call up your friends. Let them know you're coming home. And don't worry—it's secure."

Rogue thanked him. The first number she dialed was David's. They spoke for several minutes.

"You want to speak with him, Agent Bishop?" she asked after a while.

Bishop put on an earpiece with a stubby microphone. "This will have to be short, David. I'm driving," he said.

"All right, Lucas, no problem," David replied. "Thanks for getting Rogue out of that mess."

"My pleasure," Bishop told him. "Listen—call me on my phone later. I've got to keep my attention on the road."

"Affirmative, Lucas. Thanks again. Rogue—you still there?"

"Yeah," Rogue said. They resumed their conversation for a few more minutes and then David hung up. The next call Rogue made was to the school.

"Hello, Storm? It's me...yeah, I'm on my way back now." She paused as Storm expressed her relief at her release. "I'm glad I'm out of there too but Magneto...oh, hello, Logan...yeah, Bishop's driving me there. No, I'm okay. It's Magneto I'm worried about...well, it's a bit...okay, yeah—I'll fill you in when we get there. And whatever I don't know, Agent Bishop can tell you."

She paused briefly, nodding her head.

"Thanks, Logan. Thanks, Storm. I'll see you in an hour or so. Bye." Rogue pushed the cutoff button and then handed the phone back to Bishop. He put it back in its cradle.

"Looks like they're going to be real happy to see you, Rogue," Bishop remarked.

"Yeah—and let me tell you, I'm glad I'm out of that place," Rogue said. "It's creepy."

"I'd have to agree with you somewhat," Bishop said.

"And that Commander Terell sure can be a pain. He's lucky Magneto's cooperating."

"Terell's not so bad," Bishop told her. "He's ex-FBI. He used to be in my department and even got put in a special unit with some superhumans in it. He was my instructor for a few weeks until he got transferred to the DMA."

"Really? Why did he get transferred?" Rogue asked.

"His unit was disbanded," Bishop told her. "He was given command of a second superhuman unit that was smaller than the first one but that didn't work out so well."

"How come?"

"He never said why and I never asked. He's still touchy about it. But just between you and me, I think he got a bit too involved with the second unit in more ways than one." Bishop looked at Rogue meaningfully.

"Oh." She could pretty much guess what he was trying to say. "Did they—?"

"I never found out—from either of them."

Rogue fell silent, thinking about Commander Terell. She hoped that he would get a chance to speak with Magneto. Perhaps he would be able to help the security detail commander deal with whatever pain he might be feeling until now.

Bishop, for his part, shifted his attention to his driving. He merged with the flow of traffic to his right and then began to take the roads that would lead them to the school.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Two**

Dr. Henry McCoy was speaking with a fellow UN ambassador about the peace negotiations in the Middle East when his assistant, Inez Tan, came up to him.

"Excuse me, Mr. Ambassador," she said to Dr. McCoy's counterpart. "Sir, you have an urgent call."

"Pardon me, my friend," the large, blue-furred mutant said. He bowed slightly to the other ambassador and followed Inez. When they were a short distance away from the others, she handed him a mobile phone.

"Hank?" the person at the other end of the line spoke. Dr. McCoy recognized the voice immediately. It was President Cockrum.

"Yes, Mr. President," he replied. "I'm here. What can I do for you, sir?"

"I've got Dr. Windsor on the other line, Hank," President Cockrum said. "He's got some good news for us."

"Dr. McCoy—good morning, sir," Dr. Windsor said.

"Robert, it's good to hear from you again, young man," Dr. McCoy told him. "I trust your work is going well?"

"Yes, it has, sir," Dr. Windsor replied. "In fact that's what I wanted to tell you about, sir."

"What is it, Robert? Don't tell me you've achieved another breakthrough in mutant genetics?" That was one of the things that impressed Dr. McCoy the most about his former subordinate. Dr. Windsor had an almost intuitive knowledge of the science of genetics. He could trace mutations and even predict their possible effects upon the organism undergoing those mutations.

"Even better, sir," Dr. Windsor said. "Although, I think President Cockrum should be the one to tell you the news, sir."

"No, Dr. Windsor—this is your moment," the President said. The pride in his voice was obvious. "It's your department so it's only right that you tell your former boss."

"What is it, Robert?" Dr. McCoy prompted him.

"Sir, Magneto is now under DMA custody," Dr. Windsor told him.

The conversation took a while and the Secretary General was eventually called in. When it ended, Dr. McCoy made his way back to the General Assembly alongside the Secretary General. Inez followed close behind them.

"My word, I never thought this day would come," he said to no one in particular.

"This is indeed a significant event for all of us, Henry," the Secretary General said. "Imagine—one of the most powerful criminals in the world has been captured!"

"I still can't believe that it's true myself, Dr. McCoy," Inez remarked. "I never thought that Magneto would be behind bars."

"Well, technically, he's not really behind bars," Dr. McCoy corrected her. "But it seems he's perfectly willing to be jailed, if that's what it takes for him to atone for his crimes."

"So it seems he is a changed man, then?" the Secretary General asked.

"It would seem so, sir," Dr. McCoy replied. "But that remains to be seen." The Secretary General took his place before the General Assembly as Dr. McCoy stepped up to the podium. He looked out at the members of the Assembly and at the press people covering the UN beat. There was anticipation, puzzlement, and tension in on all their faces. He smiled slightly, knowing that he felt the same way.

Dr. McCoy took a deep breath as discreetly as possible to steady himself. Then he leaned closer towards the microphone and spoke in what he hoped was a calm voice.

"My fellow ambassadors, delegates of the world's nations, and members of the media," Dr. McCoy began, "I would like to take this opportunity to make a very important announcement.

"Just two hours ago, The Secretary General and I received word from President Cockrum and Dr. Robert Windsor, the U.S. Secretary for Mutant Affairs, that the mutant known as Magneto is now under custody of the Department for Mutant Affairs."

As expected, a roar came from the General Assembly. The delegates spoke excitedly—in some cases, heatedly—with each other. Flashbulbs lit up the hall from the press section. Reporters spoke into microphones, addressing unseen audiences. Dr. McCoy raised his hands in an appeal for calm and waited for the tumult to decrease before he continued.

"In our conference, Dr. Windsor emphasized that Magneto allowed himself to be brought to the DMA of his own free will. He has also expressed his willingness to face the consequences for his criminal activity both here and around the world. Furthermore, Magneto has stated that he has chosen to remain in DMA custody until such time as he has made the appropriate restitution for his crimes and—should it be found justifiable under law—is released unconditionally by the authorities.

"Dr. Windsor knows that all those who have suffered as a result of Magneto's actions must be given justice. Therefore, he has made the following proposal, to which the Secretary General, President Cockrum, and myself are amenable.

"Dr. Windsor proposes that Magneto be put on trial before a special tribunal. This tribunal will be composed of representatives, both human and mutant, who will be chosen by the International Criminal Court from a list of names which the General Assembly shall submit; those selected to serve as representative will hear all pertinent facts regarding Magneto's actions and deliberate upon the weight of those facts, either for or against him; and then they will decide the appropriate course of action to be taken based on the result of their deliberations.

"If Dr. Windsor's proposal is deemed acceptable by the General Assembly, then the selection of representatives will start at time and date agreed upon by the members of the Assembly. The trial will then begin no later than thirty days once all the representatives are chosen by the ICCt."

"For those of you just joining us now," the reporter was saying, "I'm coming to you live from the United Nations building where, just a few minutes ago, Dr. Henry McCoy, former head of the Department of Mutant Affairs and current ambassador to the UN, announced that the mutant criminal known as Magneto has been taken into custody by the DMA—"

Kitty Pryde switched off the news on her portable audio player and went to music. "Mutant this and mutant that," she muttered. That was one of the things she hated about the press sometimes. They always seemed to put an emphasis on the word _mutant _that put it on the same level as _terrorist_. Bad enough that some people thought being a mutant was like being a plague carrier; now some of the anti-mutant organizations were viewing mutants as security threats.

She was sitting in the outdoor area of a large shopping center where Colossus and Tom Corsi had gone to buy some supplies for the school. Usually she wouldn't have gone with them since they were buying construction materials and repair equipment but she didn't feel like hanging out at the school at the moment—not with Bobby and Rogue together again. More to the point, she didn't want to spend the day being Bobby's emotional door mat after he and Rogue had another one of their arguments. Jimmy had classes for most of the day so she figured she'd be back before he even knew she was gone.

"What's wrong with being a mutant, anyway?" she asked, taking a sip from her chocolate-chip java frapuccino. "When I become president, I'm going to make a law making it illegal to discriminate against mutants."

"Be careful, ma'am," someone said. "If you keep talking to yourself like that, people will think you're not normal."

Kitty turned, ready to confront whoever had made that remark. "Mind your own—" she began. But then she recognized the young man smiling at her.

"Pete?" She stood up, a look of wonder on her face. "Pete, is that you?"

"Yeah," Peter Parker said. "It's me, Kitty. How have you been?" By way of response, Kitty just grabbed onto Peter and hugged him tight.

"Whoa, hey," Peter said, "easy, Kitty—you'll knock us both over."

"No, I won't," Kitty told him. "You'll just grab onto something and stick to it so we won't fall."

Peter looked around; fortunately, no one had heard Kitty's reply. "Well, yeah," he said. "But don't broadcast it to the rest of the world."

"Oh, right—sorry." She let him go. "Have a seat, Pete. Tell me—what brings you here at this moment in my life?"

"I was at the UN, covering a story for the _Daily Bugle_," Peter said. "Speaking of which—did you catch Dr. McCoy's announcement?"

"Yeah," Kitty said. "And if you want confirmation, it's true. One of my...friends got caught along with Magneto."

"Who?"

"Rogue."

"Wasn't she the one that Magneto kidnapped when he was trying to mutate all of New York?"

"Yeah, that's the one. Then she enrolled in the school."

"Oh." Peter caught the tone of Kitty's voice and decided not to ask any more questions about Rogue. "What about you? What are you doing here?"

"I accompanied two other guys from the school," Kitty replied. "They're at the hardware store buying stuff."

"Is that right? Well, I hope you don't mind my company while you're waiting for them," Peter said.

"Of course not," Kitty said. "We've got some catching up to do, haven't we?"

"Yeah, we do." Peter stood up. "Come on—let's take a little walk." Kitty got up and the two of them automatically held hands. Peter had befriended Kitty while she was still living in the same neighborhood as he; the two of them had grown close, with the approval of his uncle and aunt and her mother. In fact, Uncle Ben and Aunt May had regarded Mrs. Pryde and Kitty as members of their family, helping them as much as they could since they knew how difficult it was for Mrs. Pryde to raise Kitty on her own.

They ended up at a bench near a balcony overlooking the lower level of the mall. They were sharing a bucket of assorted chips. Kitty had a large iced tea while Peter had a soda. Their conversation wound its way from reminiscences of their childhood to what had happened after Kitty and her mother had moved away to what was going on with their lives at present.

"How's it like being a reporter for a paper that always seems to be shooting you down?" Kitty asked.

"There are times when I feel like slugging my boss but they come and go," Peter replied. "Besides, I think it's the same way with you and the others at Professor Xavier's school. By the way, I'm real sorry about what happened to him."

"Thanks. Like I told you the last time I e-mailed you, losing him was like losing my father all over again." Kitty sighed. "It was so much easier when he was around. There was always someone to tell us that we were doing the right thing. But between you and me, Pete, sometimes, I wonder why we even bother stopping Magneto and the other mutants like him when people always think we're just the same as he is."

"Well, like I told you before," Peter said, laying a hand on one of hers, "my Uncle Ben once said that with great power comes great responsibility. I've kept that in mind every time I put on the suit."

"You've been going to college while you're saving New York?" Kitty asked.

"Yeah—just like you, pal," Peter answered. "That's some school you're attending. Maybe I should transfer there." He laughed and that brought an answering giggle from Kitty.

"Maybe you should," she said. "It would be nice to spend time with you again."

"Yeah? I'd like that too."

"Then I should get you a transfer form from the headmaster's office."

Peter squeezed Kitty's hand gently. "I missed you, pal. I'm glad we got to see each other again."

"I missed you too, pal," Kitty said. She kissed him on the cheek and gave him a hug. "You and your Aunt May. Does she still make that meat loaf that I love?"

"Yeah," Peter told her, returning her hug. "You should come over and try it again."

"Maybe I will some time." At that moment, Kitty's mobile phone rang. She excused herself and answered it. When she was done, she told Peter apologetically: "That was Mr. Corsi. He and Pete are done. I've got to go and meet them."

"Pete?"

"His real name is Piotr but we all call him Pete," Kitty explained. "He's this big Russian guy."

"Oh." Peter checked the bucket of chips and saw that it was empty. "Well, let me just throw our trash away and then let me walk you over to where they are."

"All right," Kitty said. Peter gathered up the empty bucket and their empty cups and tossed it into a nearby trash barrel.

"Come on," Kitty said, taking him by the hand.

"Wait." Peter took his handkerchief and wiped away a bit of dip at the corner of her mouth. "There you go." Kitty reached over and did the same to his cheek. "Sorry about that," she said with a smile.

Peter smiled back. "Come on. Let's not keep your friends waiting. Pete the Russian might clobber me or something."

"No, he won't," Kitty assured him. "He's almost as gentle as you are."

Tom Corsi stood outside the hardware store with a two cartloads of materials behind him. He was about to dial Kitty's number when Colossus showed up bearing two bundles.

"Did you find what you needed, Pete?" Tom asked the Russian.

"Yes, I did, Mr. Corsi," Colossus replied. "I bought extra so that I don't have to leave the school too soon."

"Good deal. Were you able to get Kitty on the horn?"

"Get Kitty on the...?" Colossus had a puzzled frown on his face for a few moments; then he understood what Tom was asking him. "Oh, yes—I was able to call her and I told her we were done. She's on her way."

"Hope she didn't get bored waiting for us," Tom remarked.

"I doubt it," Colossus said. "Besides, I think she'd rather be bored than be at the school."

"What makes you say—" Tom quickly understood what Colossus meant. "Yeah, well, I guess she's got some stuff she needs to sort out herself." As much as possible, he didn't interfere with the students' lives but even he could see that Rogue's return was making Kitty uneasy. Not that she was up to anything sneaky with Bobby but it didn't take a telepath to know that Kitty was starting to develop some serious feelings for that young man.

"What stuff might that be?" Colossus was starting to ask when he saw Kitty coming down the escalator. And she wasn't alone. There was a young man with her whom he didn't recognize. Colossus noted with a slightly arched eyebrow that she was holding hands with her companion.

"Hi, guys," she said. "Sorry if I took so long to get here."

"It's all right," Tom told her. "Pete here had to go buy some art supplies." He looked at the young man who was with Kitty. "Well, well—Peter Parker. How's it been?"

"Detective Corsi!" Peter exchanged handshakes with Tom. "You're working at Professor Xavier's school?"

"Yeah," Tom said. "I'm teaching Phys-Ed, among other things. It seemed to be a good move after being a cop for so long." Colossus cleared his throat audibly. "Oh, meet Piotr Rasputin. He's the school's art teacher."

"Pleased to meet you, Mr. Rasputin," Peter said, extending his hand. Colossus took it and was somewhat surprised to find that Kitty's friend had a good, strong grip. "Kitty's told me a bit about you and some of the other teachers. I just didn't know that the Mr. Corsi she mentioned was Detective Corsi."

"Hey, cut the 'detective' bit, Peter," Tom said, laughing. "I've been off the force for two years now."

"You guys met while you were a detective, Mr. Corsi?" Kitty asked.

"Yeah," Tom replied. "You still working for the _Bugle_, Peter?"

"Uh-huh," Peter answered. "In fact, Mr. Jameson sent me over to the UN to cover the beat for a while since the regular reporter was sick."

"Better than covering super criminals, huh?"

"Yeah, well, I can't get away from them since that's what Dr. McCoy's announcement was all about."

"He finally made Magneto's arrest public, huh?" Tom said. "Must have been crazy in there."

"It was," Peter said. "And speaking of which—you'd better get back to the school. Traffic's going to be crazy, what with all the news crews and police that are heading for the UN and the DMA right now."

"I guess we'd better," Tom agreed. "I'll bet Storm and Wolverine will have a lot to say about that."

"So, I guess this is goodbye for now, pal," Peter told Kitty.

"I guess so," Kitty said. "It really was great seeing you again, pal." She and Peter shared a hug. "Say 'hi' to your Aunt May for me, okay?"

"I will. And you stop by for that meat loaf dinner I promised, all right?" Peter reminded her.

Kitty nodded and gave Peter a kiss on the cheek. "Look, are you sure you don't want us to drop you off somewhere or anything?" she asked, not wanting to let him leave just yet.

"Thanks but the _Bugle_'s the other way from where you'll be going," Peter said. "Besides, I think I can make it back there without any traffic hassles." He smiled at her; Kitty got the hint immediately.

"Okay," she said. "So long, Peter."

"Bye, Kitty," Peter said. He waved at her and then went back to the escalators. Kitty watched him go up. He looked back once, smiled at her, and then disappeared into the crowd.

"Come on, Kitty," Colossus said, touching her shoulder. "We don't want to get caught in traffic, like your friend said."

"Yeah." Tom took one of the carts. "Let's get this stuff loaded into the van."

Colossus put his stuff on top of the materials piled onto the cart and began to push it forward. Kitty followed them quietly but in a much more cheerful frame of mind than when she arrived at the mall.

They were able to leave the mall and go for a couple of blocks without any trouble. And then they pulled into a side street that Tom knew could get them around the UN.

That was when they saw a small gang of men chasing three teenage girls. Two of the girls seemed to be carrying their friend, who was stumbling along as she tried to keep up with them.

"What the hell?" Tom said. "Now that isn't right." He floored the accelerator and gunned the van forward. With a little bit of fancy driving, he put the van between the gang and the two girls. He got out and confronted the men. Colossus followed him. Kitty went out the other side of the van to check on the two girls. One of them—a blonde girl in raver's attire—seemed to be bleeding from the forehead. There was an improvised bandage wrapped around her head that was obviously taken from one of the other girls' clothing.

"Whoa, now, what seems to be the problem here?" he asked them, hands out to indicate that he had no hostile intent.

"Get out of the way, man," one of the men—a beer-bellied thug wearing a fatigue jacket, drooping jeans, and work shoes—said, hefting a two-by-four. "We're going to get rid of those two muties."

"Muties?" Tom said. "What are you talking about?"

"Mutants!" spat a thinner thug with long, greasy hair. He stood behind the fat one. "They're mutants!"

"Yeah—and mutants die!" the fat thug declared. "First them, then Magneto!"

"Not today, man," Tom said firmly. "Go home." Out of the corner of his eye, he saw some more men joining the group in front of him. Colossus noticed it too and they immediately took up defensive postures.

"Who's gonna stop us—you two?" the thinner thug said. "I don't think so. Hand the muties over and we'll let you go with a warning."

"I said go home, man," Tom said, standing his ground. "_We're_ going to let _you _off with a warning if you turn around and leave."

"Mutie lover!" the fat thug roared. "Get them!" The gang—more like a small mob—advanced.

Kitty saw them charging through the window of the driver's side door. She turned to the three girls. "Get in!" she told them, opening the van's side door. She helped the blonde's friend—with her coffee-colored skin, Kitty figured she was Puerto Rican or Mexican—carry her into the van. The third girl, however, seemed to be watching the fighting with glazed eyes.

"Hey!" she screamed at the petite, dark-haired girl (somehow she looked familiar, Kitty's mind told her crazily) who stood where she was, looking at the events taking place on the other side of the van. "Get in here!"

Instead, the girl seemed to growl. Kitty heard another maddeningly familiar sound, like metal sliding wetly out of something, then the girl gave a feral cry of rage.

"Tat..." the blonde whispered. "Laura..."

"I'm here, Kid," Tatiana Caban told her friend. "Laura's...Laura's outside..."

"Help her...Tat..." Kiden Nixon said.

"I'll do it," Kitty told them. She shut the van's door and locked it. Then she phased through the side of the vehicle. She told herself not to be afraid, that she'd faced someone as dangerous as the Juggernaut and survived.

Colossus swatted away another bottle that was thrown at him. It shattered against his arm, the fragments bouncing off his organic steel skin harmlessly. Tom, for his part, easily took a thug's crowbar away from him and used it to send the thug down.

"I thought you said not to hurt them?" Colossus asked, sending another thug onto the sidewalk with a casual flick of his wrist.

"Well, he had a crowbar," was Tom's reply. He wrapped the crowbar around a knife-wielding attacker's wrist, rendering the weapon unusable. Then he kicked him in the gut. The knife man went down.

"You're dead, man!" a man with a gun screamed, aiming at Tom. Colossus quickly covered Tom as the man fired. The man's four friends—all armed with pistols themselves—began to shoot at Colossus, trying to bring him down.

Kitty waited until she was close enough to one of them and then jumped him. At her touch, he suddenly found himself phasing through the street. Kitty resurfaced near the van. One of the men who'd seen what she had done drew a bead on her. Colossus, unable to leave Tom to the mercy of the others, could only stare in horror as the man pulled the trigger.

The gun never went off. Instead, the barrel was sliced clean off the rest of the weapon by something that had leaped from the roof of the van. The other men turned to see what had happened and were cut down—literally—by a blur of movement. The men went down and Kitty saw the girl named Laura stand up, eyeing her foes to see if there were any threats remaining.

Laura had two claws sticking out of the top of both her hands—_just like Wolverine, _she thought.

"Wow, kid, that was some piece of work..." Tom began but then he saw a new group of attackers—thankfully smaller, about a half-dozen as compared to the eighteen they'd just disposed of—running towards them.

"More company," Colossus said.

"All right, backs to the van," Tom said. "Make sure nobody gets to it."

Kitty stood next to Colossus. He glanced at her and smiled. Laura was on her left; Tom was beside her. She remembered the battle on Alcatraz. They had formed a defensive line just like this one when Magneto and his mutants had charged the Worthington laboratory complex where Jimmy was kept. Of course, Storm, Wolverine, and Bobby had been there with her and Colossus.

Some of the other men that had been knocked down but were still capable of fighting stood up to join the six who were closing in on them.

"An even dozen," Tom said with a chuckle. "Three for each of us. Anyone goes down, help them out, okay?" The others agreed—even Laura.

Just as the men were about to come within striking distance, however, something fell upon them, something like a net that completely entangled the men.

Someone spoke: "If you bozos won't fight fair, then you're not going to be fighting at all."

The four mutants turned and saw a familiar figure in blue and red atop the van.

"Well, looks like I owe you again, web head," Tom said as Spider-Man dropped down in front of him.

"Hey, once a cop, always a cop," Spider-Man told him. "Besides, I owe you a lot myself. And I've always had respect for Professor Xavier and his students." Colossus and Kitty approached him. Laura trailed cautiously behind Kitty.

"Thanks...Spider-Man," Kitty said. _Nice going, Kitty,_ she thought. _You nearly said his name out loud._

"No problem," Spider-Man replied. "I'll take these guys to the nearest police station, if you don't mind."

"Take them to the Forty-First," Tom advised him. "It's the one in charge of this area. Tell the desk sergeant that I said not to give you any grief."

"Got it, detective," Spider-Man said. He began to spin several lines that would allow him to carry the thugs while they were caught in his webbing. Colossus helped him heft them overhead and stick them onto the nearest wall.

"Thanks for the help, _tovarisch,_" Colossus said.

"Hey, we superheroes have to look out for each other, right?" Spider-Man said. They shook hands and then Spider-Man mounted the wall and began climbing, taking the web full of thugs with him.

"You're friends with him?" Kitty asked Tom as they watched him leave.

"Yup," Tom replied. "He and I helped each other out a lot when I was still with the NYPD. He's a good guy to have on your side."

"Uh-huh," Kitty agreed. "I'll say he is."


	6. Chapter 6

Moira MacTaggert was in her office, editing some research notes on her PC. The TV was on but she was barely paying attention to it—until she heard Magneto's name mentioned by the reporter.

"Once again, ladies and gentlemen, we're coming to you live from the Department of Mutant Affairs building in New York," the reporter was saying. "At this moment, Dr. Robert Windsor, the US secretary for Mutant Affairs, is currently conducting a press conference regarding Magneto's detention and the possibility of his being brought before a court of law to go on trial for his crimes."

Dr. MacTaggert got up from her desk and all but ran to one of her research center's wings. She entered an isolation room where a man lay on a hospital bed. He was hooked up to various life-support systems but none of them seemed to be doing him any visible good.

"Charles?" she called out to him softly. "Are you awake?" The man that lay on the bed was supposed to be a comatose father of four that had been transferred to Muir Island with permission from his family in order to be used for medical research. After M-Day, however, Dr. MacTaggert discovered that Professor Charles Xavier had somehow transferred his conscious self into the body of the man on the bed. It was from him that Dr. MacTaggert learned about his apparent demise at the hands of Jean Grey while she was possessed by the Phoenix entity.

_Yes, Moira? What is it? _answered the Professor's voice of in her mind. _You seem troubled. _

"Charles—it's Erik," she said. "They're talking about him on the news."

_Erik? Why? What's happening?_

"He's been detained at the Department of Mutant Affairs," she told him. "And it appears he's going to be put on trial very soon."

There was silence for a while. Dr. MacTaggert could almost picture the Professor at his desk in the school, thinking and pondering the appropriate course of action to take.

_Let us return to your office,_ he told her. _Let me see the news for myself through your eyes._

"All right," Dr. MacTaggert said. She went back to her workplace and informed Sharon Friedlander, her assistant, that she wanted to be undisturbed except for emergencies. Then she locked the door behind her as she entered her office. The TV was still showing the press conference at the DMA. In her mind, she saw Professor Xavier settling down in his wheelchair to watch silently and observe what was going on before him.

"Dr. Windsor, when will Magneto be allowed to appear in public?" a reporter asked.

"That depends entirely upon Magneto himself," Dr. Windsor replied. "I personally asked him if he wished to join me today but he declined. _Declined_, mind you—not refused, as one might have expected. He politely declined. He said he needs time to think since he has a great deal on his mind."

"What has he been doing since he was placed in your custody, doctor?" another reporter wanted to know.

"He's been keeping to himself, at present," the Mutant Affairs secretary answered. "He hasn't mingled with the other mutants at the detention facility. Again, I've assured him that he can do so as long as no untoward incidents take place but he feels that it isn't the time for him to do so just yet. He has informed me, however, that, at an appropriate time, he wished to speak with the other mutants."

"Speak to them about what, doctor?"

"Apparently he doesn't want any trouble while he's in our custody so he wants to advise the other mutants to refrain from doing anything rash. He believes that there's been enough harm done to both mutants and humans. I, for one, agree with him."

"Doctor, Secretary Trask has stated that he believes it would be safer if Magneto were transferred to one of the Homeland Security detention facilities. Do you agree?"

"With all due respect to Secretary Trask, Magneto's case falls under my department's jurisdiction. I realize that Magneto is considered a threat to national security but I would ask Secretary Trask to please allow me to do my work. Magneto has been cooperative thus far and I would like to maintain an atmosphere of trust between myself and him, as a way to build a bridge between the DMA and those whose rights we are supposed to uphold and protect under law."

_Henry was apparently correct in choosing this young man as his successor,_ Professor Xavier observed.

"I would have to agree, Charles," Dr. MacTaggert said. "But the question remains—what are you going to do?"

_Have you spoken with the school about this, Moira?_

"Briefly, Charles," Dr. MacTaggert replied. "Ororo and Logan were more concerned with bringing Rogue back home."

_Why? Did Rogue leave the school without informing them?_

"No," Dr. MacTaggert told the Professor, "but she was taken into DMA custody as well since she was with Magneto at the time of his arrest."

_Was she? Did you learn why?_

"Unfortunately not, Charles. Ororo and Logan have been lenient with her, given that she's voluntarily given up her powers. She still attends classes and has even been given some of the younger students to handle but she's also been allowed to go about her own affairs as she pleases."

_Hmmm...I think I can understand what she's going through right now. Is she safe?_

"Yes, she's back at the school now."

_These developments...I think it would be in our best interests to remain fully aware of the events that are unfolding, Moira._

"I would have to agree, Charles." Dr. MacTaggert said, turning her attention back to the press conference.

Rogue left the common room wordlessly. The other students were glued to the TV, watching the press conference. It seemed that the entire school was paying more attention to the news lately; normally, the TV's in the common rooms would be locked onto sports, music, or entertainment channels, depending on the the gender that had numerical superiority during a given moment.

Bobby watched her leave. He looked over at Kitty and Jimmy. Kitty gestured at him to follow her. Jimmy just looked at him. He nodded his thanks to her and then got up.

"Are Rogue and Bobby mad at each other again?" Jimmy asked Kitty.

"Huh? Why are you asking, Jimmy?" Kitty asked in return.

"Because Bobby should be happy now that Rogue's back but they don't look too happy," Jimmy replied.

"Jimmy's got a point," Megan Gwynn remarked. "Bobby looks like he's been walking on ten miles' worth of eggshells and Rogue's been more withdrawn than she used to be."

"Well...how would you feel if you were in Bobby's place?" Kitty asked. "His girlfriend was with Magneto and she won't tell him why."

"Did she tell you?" Megan asked.

"No," Kitty answered. "I haven't really spoken with her since she came back."

"Maybe you should," Jimmy said. "You two are friends, aren't you?"

"Ummm..." Kitty thought about evading the question but Jimmy was looking at her as if he was trying to see right into her mind. "Well, yeah, Jimmy, she's my friend."

"Then go and talk to her," Jimmy said. Then he turned his attention back to the TV.

"Jimmy has a point, Kitty," Megan said.

"I know he does," Kitty whispered, "but you know how things are..."

"Kitty," Megan whispered, "are you and Bobby seeing each other behind Rogue's back?"

"No!" Kitty said in a much louder voice than she planned. The other students told her to quiet down. Megan took her by the arm and led her outside to the corridor and shut the common room door behind them.

"There," Megan said. "Now—one more time. Are you and—"

"No, Megan," Kitty said. "We're not."

"Okay, so you've got nothing that you have to worry about," Megan said. "Then you can talk to her later, maybe after dinner."

"Meg, look...I will...but not now, okay?" Kitty pleaded.

"All right," Megan agreed. "But you have to sooner or later. Just be sure that you really have nothing that you're going to be hiding from her."

Kitty nodded silently. _If only it were that easy,_ she thought.

"Marie, wait up." Bobby ran up to her just as she was entering her room.

"What is it, Bobby?" she asked.

"Can we talk?" he asked. "I just...you looked upset a while ago when you left..."

"I'm all right," Rogue replied. "Just tired. I want to take a nap."

"Come on, Marie," Bobby insisted, using her real name. "I just want to talk to you."

"Fine," she said. She found herself not liking his calling her Marie again. She went inside, leaving the door open, and sat down on the bed. "What do you want to talk about?"

Bobby took a chair and sat down in front of her. He drew in a short breath, let it out, and then began cautiously: "Okay, Marie—why were you upset about the news a while ago?"

"Why shouldn't I be?" Rogue wanted to know.

"Well, Magneto...he's not exactly..." Bobby thought for a minute before continuing: "I mean, we've fought this guy since we were starting out here..."

"You mean since you were starting out here," Rogue corrected him.

"Okay, since I was starting out here," Bobby amended. "But then, you've fought him too since you enrolled here."

"Yeah, well, maybe there's a time when you gotta stop fighting with someone—especially when it turns out you've got a few things in common."

"Now what would you have in common with Magneto, Marie?" Bobby wanted to know.

"More than I thought I would," Rogue replied. "For one thing, we both lost our parents."

"And because of that, you suddenly feel sorry for him?" Try as he might to disguise it, the disbelief in Bobby's voice was plain as day.

"Why?" Rogue got up. "Wouldn't you? He lost his entire family, Bobby, and so did I! If nothing else, that's something he and I share."

"All right," Bobby said, trying to keep calm, "so you're both orphans. He's probably orphaned a lot of people while he was trying to rule the world—"

"He was never big on collateral damage, Bobby. And whatever he did, he did it for mutants—for people like us," Rogue said. "He wasn't in it for himself."

"Is that what he told you while you were at the DMA?" Bobby shook his head and laughed. "You actually believed him?"

"I've believed in him for a while now, Bobby," Rogue said, angered by Bobby's laughter.

Bobby eyed her suspiciously: "For how long?"

"Since he lost his powers," Rogue said. She let that sink in with a mean kind of pleasure. She didn't think she needed to keep that a secret from him anymore. After all, he had been bugging her about where she'd been going. Now he knew.

A look of understanding slowly crept across Bobby's face. He stood up, jealousy and anger rising slowly inside of him. He frankly glared at Rogue. "Every time you were away from the school, you were with him, weren't you?" he said, not caring if anyone heard him shouting.

"Yeah, I was," Rogue told him proudly, defiantly. "And I've been helping him with his work too."

"What kind of work?" Bobby demanded.

"Teaching some kids—some of them are mutants and some aren't but they're different from other people, just like we are."

"Teaching them what, Marie? The only thing Magneto knows how to teach is destroying the world."

"You're wrong, Bobby. He was teaching them how to use their powers properly. He was teaching them that they don't have to be afraid or ashamed just because they're different. He was teaching them what Professor Xavier's taught us."

"Hey—don't you compare the Professor with Magneto," Bobby warned her. "They're two different people—"

"The Professor and Magneto are friends, Bobby!" Rogue interjected sharply, eyes blazing furiously at him. "They may not believe in the same things exactly but they're friends! Why shouldn't Magneto be teaching what Professor Xavier taught us?"

"Because Magneto's a criminal, that's why! Professor Xavier was a good man—he was like a father to me and to a lot of the students! He's not a criminal like Magneto! For God's sake, Marie—Magneto kidnapped you! Or have you forgotten that? He's a damn criminal!" Bobby took hold of her by the arms. "Are you so hung up on Magneto that you can't see that? Or are you going to tell me that's another thing you share with him?"

Rogue's hand flew up and hit Bobby, knuckles first, just like David had taught her. Bobby let her go, stunned and surprised by the force of her blow.

"God damn you, Bobby," she said, her voice hoarse and angry tears coursing down her face.

Bobby wiped the blood from the corner of his lip. "Hey, Rogue...Marie—I didn't mean—"

"Leave me alone, Bobby," she said. "When I get back to my room, you'd better not be here. You'd better not go anywhere near me when we see each other. Just leave me alone." With that, she pushed past him and walked with her eyes downcast, no longer even trying to hold in her tears. Vaguely, she heard students and teachers who saw her trying to speak with her but she ignored them all and left the mansion.

She went to a secluded spot in the garden and sat underneath a large, old tree with wide, leafy branches. Lately, this had been her hideaway whenever she couldn't get away from the school. She protected this spot with a passion; no one, not Bobby, not even Logan had been allowed here without her permission.

She rubbed her knuckles as she wept. She felt guilty for hitting Bobby but part of her knew that he deserved it. What he said had touched a raw nerve inside her. The bitter truth of it was that she _was_ a criminal; maybe not on the same scale as Magneto but she'd done some things that she wasn't proud of simply for the sake of survival. She had no one to turn to, no one to help her since she ran away so she had to rely on herself. That hadn't kept her from experiencing some feeling of remorse whenever she got away with her crimes but she learned how to quiet those feelings. Logan would've understood, if she'd told him but he'd never asked since he had his own dark past. David knew and didn't seem to be bothered by it in the least.

She told Magneto about it. As they spent more time together and they grew closer, she felt that she could tell him things that she had to keep hidden from other people. She told him about the things she'd done to survive, the things that sometimes came to haunt her when she was alone, the things that made her sick to her core when she realized that she had done them.

Magneto listened to her silently and then told her afterwards: "My dear Anne Marie, I can let the past completely take over who I am and determine who I will become. After all, it's a part of me." In his eyes, she saw dark days, desperate struggles, and dimmed hopes. But she also saw strength—the strength of will to survive but more than that, to surpass the blood and fear, the pain and sorrow. He took her hands in his and looked right at her; he looked right _into _her.

"But the past is not the sum of who I am," he continued. "It's not _all _of me. I am who I make myself to be."

He'd given her a hug after saying that and she surprised herself by hugging him back for the first time, realizing that Magneto was talking about her as much as he was about himself. Just before she returned to the school that day, he gave her one last piece of advice: "It is not my place to judge you, my dear Anne Marie. And so I will not. But you must come to terms with your past. Once you learn to accept it for what it is, then you can learn to go on living and becoming the person whom you truly wish to be."

_Oh, Mr. Lehnsherr,_ she thought. _How are you doing now and what's going to happen to you?_ She had a feeling that the trial that Dr. Windsor was talking about would push through. In which case, Magneto was doomed. There was no way that he was going to be found innocent. And once a guilty verdict was handed down, she saw only two possible outcomes: Magneto would stay at the DMA detention facility for the rest of his life or he would be executed. She tried not to think of the latter possibility too much. But from what Bobby had said, she knew that there would be no worldwide outcry if Magneto was given a death sentence. His passing would not be mourned but celebrated by those who knew him only as what Bobby said he was: a criminal. There would be no tears shed for a criminal who deserved the cruel fate that was waiting for him.

Wolverine chewed on the remains of his cigar as he listened to Dr. Windsor answer a reporter's question. He was about to take another one out of his jacket's breast pocket when Storm spoke up: "Logan, would you please refrain from smoking again? I'm not used to cigar smoke this close."

"Sorry," he muttered. He went over to the window and lit up, making sure he blew the smoke outside.

"Thank you, Logan," Storm said. On screen, a reporter asked Dr. Windsor: "Sir, what's your comment regarding the growing number of incidents involving violence against mutants?"

"Frankly, I'm appalled by it," the Mutant Affairs secretary replied. "I should think that, by now, people realize that violence is reciprocal. If humans use violence against mutants then they shouldn't be surprised whenever mutants behave the same way. I hope that law enforcement agencies throughout the country can prevent such incidents from taking place."

"Sir, there have also been reports of mutant-on-mutant violence," the reporter continued. "What do you have to say about that?"

"That's one of the issues that Magneto wishes to address once he decides to appear in public," Dr. Windsor said. "He does not wish to be used as an inspiration by those mutants who seek to cause havoc. He will not be a figurehead for those who would seek to do evil and say that they are following in his footsteps."

"Well, there's plenty of havoc going around already, no matter what he says," Wolverine remarked.

"I agree," Storm said. "The girl that Tom, Colossus, and Kitty brought in two days ago seems to bear that out." The girl had been treated by Cecilia Reyes, the school doctor, and pronounced out of any long-term danger. She and her two friends were currently being given refuge by unanimous agreement of all the senior staff.

"That's something I expected already," Wolverine said, turning away from the window. "But mutant-on-mutant violence...that's something I thought would've stopped with Magneto's detention."

"Apparently not."

"No, I guess Bishop and Zee were right." Wolverine thought back to when he and Storm had spoken at length with the two government agents who'd been their guests. Bishop stayed for a while after delivering Rogue to the school. Zee arrived ahead of him. The four of them gathered in the conference room next to the headmaster's office. Bishop gave his assessment of the Magneto situation. From what he saw himself, Magneto was being treated humanely and showed no overt signs of escaping from the DMA. Dr. Windsor was determined to ask for his cooperation in improving human-mutant relations. The exceptionally heavy security at the DMA wasn't an overreaction—more like common sense, considering the level of Magneto's abilities.

Zee, for her part, had been doing street-level intelligence work since the news of Magneto's detention had reached her. Various anti-mutant organizations were gathering with increasing frequency—that much was indeed expected. But she'd also been picking up information here and there that there were mutants grouping together along opposing lines: those who wanted Magneto to pay for his crimes and those who saw him as a martyr for the mutant cause. Already there was talk brewing of a rescue attempt and, perhaps, outright rebellion against the DMA.

"As this whole situation goes on," Zee told them all, "I'm expecting trouble not only between mutants and humans but also between mutants in general."

"Like a civil war?" Bishop asked.

"Something like that," Zee said. "I also predict escalation."

"Escalation?" The word sounded ominous to Storm as they listened to Zee.

"Escalation," Zee repeated. "The team that captured Magneto was composed of mutants, isn't that correct, Agent Bishop?"

"That's correct," Bishop said.

"That team's ranks are going to grow," Zee predicted. "The DMA will be recruiting from the mutants detained at their complex or they'll ask for mutant volunteers. Then they'll be deployed to areas where there's trouble being instigated by humans or mutants—or both."

As if echoing Zee's words, Dr. Windsor made this response when asked what the DMA would do to keep the tensions simmering between humans and mutants, as well as between mutants, from reaching a critical point: "President Cockrum has authorized me to expand the team that captured Magneto into a task force that will be deployed to stop all incidents of violence that may erupt between humans and mutants This task force will also be charged with monitoring the activities of pro- and anti-Magneto mutant groups and keeping both factions from causing trouble among themselves."

"Great," Wolverine said. "That's just great. What did I tell you? It's starting already."

Storm didn't answer. Instead she said: "I have a feeling those three girls aren't going to be the last to come here looking for sanctuary."

Kitty eventually grew listless as the press conference progressed. So did the other students. After a while, one of them changed the channel.

Kitty turned to Jimmy. "Hey, big guy—you hungry?"

"Yes," Jimmy replied. "Can we eat or do we have to wait for—?"

"No," Kitty said a bit abruptly. "Come on." She got up from where she sat.

"Where are you going?" Megan asked.

"To the kitchen," Kitty replied. "Jimmy and I are going to get something to eat. Want to come with us?"

"Don't mind if I do." Megan sat up from the couch and activated her wings. She gently floated into the air.

"Hey, watch the dust," Leo EnCello said, shaking his head in a dog-like fashion.

"Sorry, Leo," Megan said. "Wanna come with us?"

"Where?" He stretched his lithe body before standing up.

"The kitchen—for a sandwich or something."

"Food! Count me in!" Leo said, his tail lashing expectantly. He and Megan followed Kitty and Jimmy as they left the common room. As they were crossing the main lobby, they saw Bobby coming downstairs. Jimmy ran up to him and then his eyes widened in surprise.

"Bobby, you're hurt!" he exclaimed, pointed to the bruise at the corner of Bobby's mouth. The blood coming from it was starting to clot.

"Just a little, Jimmy," he said, turning his left hand to ice and putting it to his wound. "I'm all right."

From what Kitty could see, he didn't look all that happy about the conversation that he and Rogue had; in fact, it looked like things just took a turn for the worse between them. The bloody bruise he had was enough to tell Kitty that the conversation hadn't gone well for either of them. But despite Megan hovering closely behind her as if in warning, she asked: "What happened? I thought you were going to speak with Rogue?"

"I did," Bobby replied. "We got into another argument."

"Rogue did that to you?" Jimmy asked. "Why?"

"I guess I was asking for it," Bobby admitted. "I sort of flew of the handle."

"You want to go to the clinic or something?" Kitty wanted to know.

"No, I'll be all right," Bobby said.

"Come with us—we're going to have a snack," Jimmy said to him.

Bobby was tempted; after what happened, he figured that he could use some friendlier company. But then he looked at Kitty and told himself that he couldn't keep running to her whenever he and Rogue were going through a rough time. Part of him objected, saying that Rogue had been seeing Magneto behind his back so turnabout was fair play, but he shut that thought out quickly.

"Nah, I think I'll go clean myself up and take a nap or something," he said, ruffling Jimmy's hair. "Thanks anyway, Jimmy."

"Are you sure?" Kitty asked. "I mean...it's okay with me."

Bobby smiled at her. "Yeah, I'll be all right. See you later, I guess."

As Bobby was about to leave, Kitty called out to him. He turned around. Kitty looked at him, torn between wanting to comfort him and wanting to leave him be to sort things out himself. Megan's words repeated themselves in her head. If she didn't want to have to hide anything from Rogue, maybe it would be better, she thought, if she just admitted that she felt something for Bobby. It was probably obvious to him, anyway. What harm could it do at this point?

_Tell him,_ the voice in her head whispered. She ignored it.

Jimmy touched her hand. "Kitty? Come on—Bobby said we could have a snack without him."

She looked down at Jimmy. He gave her hand a slight tug. Kitty sighed.

"All right, Jimmy," she finally said. "Let's go." She glanced back but Bobby was gone.

"What the heck was that all about?" Leo wondered out loud. Megan pointed at Kitty and put a finger to her lips, shaking her head in a negative gesture.

"Oh." He shrugged. They proceeded to the kitchen without any further discussion.


	7. Chapter 7

Dr. Windsor thought he could return to his office straightaway after adjourning the press conference but it wasn't meant to be.

One of his aides, Remy LeBeau, approached him as he was heading for the DMA cafeteria to buy a sandwich or something he could eat quickly before returning to work.

"Mr. Secretary, President Cockrum wants to meet you right away," LeBeau said. "He said it was urgent. And I believe Secretary Trask is on his way to the White House as well."

"Good Lord," Dr. Windsor remarked. "This is probably about that appeal I made to Secretary Trask." He sighed. "All right. Mr. LeBeau, I need to pass by my office first."

After picking up a leather document case, Dr. Windsor and LeBeau began making their way to where the helicopter that was to take them to the White House was waiting.

LeBeau spoke into his lapel mike and waited for the response. "Mr. Yoshida has the chopper ready to go the east helipad, sir," he said. Dr. Windsor walked silently alongside his aide, who spoke quietly into his lapel mike once again. On their way to the helipad, they ran into Mystique and Pyro.

"Ah, Agents Mystique and Pyro." The Mutant Affairs secretary stopped and asked: "Are you going to be running drills with your team this afternoon?"

"No, sir," Mystique replied. "Why?"

"In that case, I'd like you and Agent Pyro to join me for a trip to the White House. I believe Secretary Trask may want to have words with us."

"Is that so?" Mystique remarked. "All right. This should be interesting." They proceeded to the helipad where Shiro Yoshida was waiting next to the secretary's aircraft. He was silent when he spotted Mystique and Pyro with Dr. Windsor but, other than a slightly arched eyebrow, he made no overt reaction. He and LeBeau waited until the secretary and his party were aboard the aircraft. Then Yoshida took the shotgun seat and LeBeau sat next to Dr. Windsor in the cabin.

"I'm telling you, Mr. President, he's out of line! He's bent over backwards so much to accommodate these people that he's thinking with the wrong end of his body!"

Bolivar Trask stood before President Cockrum's desk, the very picture of outrage. He'd been seething quietly while he watched the press conference at the DMA but now he was venting his ire freely and loudly.

"He's recruiting criminals to perform government duties and then he actually has the gall to ask the various law enforcement agencies and my own department to help him? That's absurd!" Secretary Trask stopped to wipe his bald head with a handkerchief before continuing: "It's beyond absurd, to be frank. It's monumental arrogance!"

"What do you find to be monumental arrogance, Secretary Trask?" Dr. Windsor asked as he entered the Oval Office.

The Homeland Security head turned to face his nemesis but stopped when he saw who was with him. "What the hell are _they_ doing here?" he demanded, pointing a finger at Mystique and Pyro. Then he said to President Cockrum: "Do you see now, Mr. President? He's bringing criminals into the White House as if they had a place here!"

"As a matter of fact, they do," Dr. Windsor said softly. "After all, they were part of the team who brought Magneto into DMA custody. And Agent Mystique led the team herself."

"_Agent Mystique?_" bellowed Secretary Trask. "You're insane, Windsor! Appointing a known criminal who murdered no less than three of my own people when she escaped from _our_ custody—"

"With all due respect. Mr. Secretary," Mystique said, "your people were under orders to murder me."

"Because you're a criminal!" Secretary Trask walked up to Mystique and jabbed a finger into her collarbone, just below her throat. "You're no different from Magneto, you freak of nature—"

"Secretary Trask," Dr. Windsor said, "I wouldn't do that—" The warning came too late. Mystique grabbed Secretary Trask's hand and quickly put him in a choke hold.

"Don't you ever lay so much as a finger on me ever again, _Mr. Secretary_," Mystique told him, spitting out the word as if it were poison. She tightened her arm around his throat. Pyro tried unsuccessfully to make her let go. "I'm doing this government's dirty work for it," she continued, "and you damn well better realize that. You sit in your office and push your subordinates around but I_ am not _your subordinate and I _don't_ take kindly to being pushed around."

She let him go with a push, sending him into a front corner of the President's desk. Secretary Trask sent papers flying but was able to stop himself from falling. When he turned around, he was no longer outraged—he looked like he was beyond any definition of anger.

"I could shoot you for that, you freak of nature," he said, eyeing Mystique furiously. His lips curled back like a dog snarling and getting ready to attack. He reached into his jacket but he was outdrawn. Mystique had a handgun aimed between his eyes even before his fingers closed around the handgrip of his own weapon.

"Try it," Mystique dared him. The look in her eyes was enough to give even a combat-hardened veteran like Secretary Trask pause.

"Agent Mystique!" Dr. Windsor said sharply. "That's enough!" He stood between the two adversaries. Pyro joined him, staying right in his team leader's line of sight.

"Hey, boss," he said, palms out, "come on, put the gun down, would you?"

President Cockrum decided to intervene: "Agent Mystique! Secretary Trask!"

"Yes?" Mystique responded.

"That's quite enough! We're supposed to be working together not trying to kill each other." The president approached all four of them as they stood before his desk. "Please, I'm asking you two—put your weapons away."

"Boss, you heard," Pyro said beseechingly. "Put the gun down already."

"Let go of your gun, Secretary Trask," Dr. Windsor told the Homeland Security head.

Mystique and Secretary Trask kept an eye on one another as they put their weapons away. The president informed a worried Secret Service that the situation was taken care of satisfactorily.

"That's better," President Cockrum said. "Now, if you're both ready, we can discuss the arrangements for Magneto's trial."

"Has the General Assembly approved the proposal then, Mr. President?" Dr. Windsor asked, seating himself in front of the President's desk. Secretary Trask did likewise. Mystique and Pyro stood close by.

"Not yet, Dr, Windsor, but I believe it's close." President Cockrum leaned forward, elbows on his desk. "The General Assembly seems to have taken a favorable view of our proposal. Dr. McCoy and I spoke with each other before you and Secretary Trask arrived. He assured me that there's a better than even chance that it could be approved within the day. In which case, the nomination of representatives should take place tomorrow."

"That's good news, sir!" Dr. Windsor said, pleased at the results of the efforts made by himself, the president, and Dr. McCoy.

"I must ask, though, doctor—where do you intend to hold the trial once it begins?" President Cockrum asked.

"Well, sir, I had the administrative wing of the DMA complex in mind," Dr. Windsor replied. "The meeting hall on the first floor of the Law Building should suffice. There's room for the magistrates and representatives, as well as the press. If I may say so, I think it will be more than sufficient. Although the ICCt will have to inspect the place to make sure."

"What about security?"

"Mr. President," Secretary Trask spoke up, "I believe Dr. Windsor wants the trial to be watched over by _mutants_."

"Jesus, this guy's something else," Pyro muttered under his breath.

"He doesn't like us, plain and simple," Mystique said to him.

"Tell me about it," Pyro remarked.

"What Secretary Trask said is correct," Dr. Windsor admitted. "I'm planning to expand the roster of the mutant operations team to be able to split them into three squads. I would like to assign the team that brought Magneto to the DMA to handle security inside the courtroom. The second squad will undertake surveillance throughout the trial from DMA Central Security while the third squad will be outside the building. Of course, Commander Terell and Commander Wisdom will also be taking part in this entire operation throughout the duration of the trial. I'd also like to request the Army or, perhaps, the National Guard to send troops to bolster our own security forces."

"If you'll allow me, sir," Secretary Trask said, "I have a simpler idea."

"What is it, Secretary Trask?" President Cockrum asked.

The Homeland Security head smiled at the Mutant Affairs secretary and his two subordinates. "Are you aware of Project Wide Awake, Mr. President?" he asked.

"I've heard it mentioned," President Cockrum replied. "Isn't it supposed to be a defense plan against mutant terrorism?"

"Exactly." Secretary Trask looked pleased. Dr. Windsor was puzzled.

"What's he talking about?" Pyro whispered to Mystique.

"I have an idea but I hope he's not serious about pushing it," she said. She remembered Colonel Stryker's facility at Alkali Lake. And she knew very well that Secretary Trask had served in the same branch of the military that Stryker did; more than that, she knew that they were friends—or at least they shared the same view of mutantkind. If the Homeland Security head _did_ know about Project Wide Awake, then there was going to be trouble at the trial—and beyond that.

"Mr. President, Project Wide Awake was, as you said, created in order to provide a defense against mutant terrorism," Secretary Trask said. "It was developed precisely to combat high-level mutant threats such as Magneto. We weren't able to deploy it fully during the assault on Alcatraz but we've been testing it and refining it.

"And now, Mr. President...Dr. Windsor...I'm pleased to tell you that Project Wide Awake is now fully operational and ready for deployment."

"What exactly is Project Wide Awake, Mr. Secretary?" Dr. Windsor asked.

Secretary Trask got up. "Let me show you what we _truly_ have on our side." He left the Oval Office briefly. When he returned, he had a couple of his own aides set up the necessary equipment for an audiovisual presentation. When everything was ready, he went to a laptop that one of his aides had brought and started his presentation.

"This is Project Wide Awake, gentlemen," Secretary Trask said. On the projector screen, a gigantic humanoid made out of metal flew across the sky, landed on the ground, and then began to attack a phalanx of armored vehicles.

"These are the Sentinels—the core of Project Wide Awake. Heavy armored robotic units designed for the purpose of eliminating mutants who prove to be dangerous to national security." The first Sentinel was joined by several more. The metal giants then began to execute preprogrammed combat maneuvers. "They're controlled by a state-of-the-art supercomputer with artificial-intelligence programming. It's been code-named Bastion because it is the first...the strongest...the _ultimate_ line of defense that humanity has against mutant terror."

Mystique watched the screen with an impassive look on her face. Inside her, however, she could feel a knot of tension in her belly. She knew something about Project Wide Awake. She'd stolen the files pertaining to it from Stryker's Alkali Lake headquarters and did her own "research".

_You were right, Irene,_ she thought. _Your greatest fear is coming true. I'm only glad that you didn't live long enough to have to witness this terror._

The presentation ended. President Cockrum leafed through the sheaf of documents before him.

"Say the word, Mr. President," Secretary Trask said, "and I will implement Project Wide Awake."

"You really hate us, don't you, Trask?" Mystique asked.

"He doesn't hate all mutantkind," Dr. Windsor said. "Just one: Laurence Trask."

Secretary Trask's eyes widened in shock and anger. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Dr. Windsor quietly opened the leather document case that he'd brought with him from the DMA. He took out a brown envelope, opened it, and placed the photographs it contained down on the President's desk. The first picture showed a young man—little more than a teenager, actually—in a long line of people standing outside a low building guarded by police.

"This was taken at one of the anti-mutagen clinics here in Washington by DMA security agents who were undertaking surveillance to prevent an attack," Dr. Windsor said. He then shuffled to the second photograph. "This is from one of the internal cameras. Laurence Trask met with one of the clinic's counselors but left without undergoing anti-mutagen treatment." Before he could get to the other photos, however, Secretary Trask picked them up and tore them in two.

"I'd like to speak with you in private, doctor," he said.

Dr. Windsor nodded understandingly. "Of course."

"May I use your study, Mr. President?" Secretary Trask asked.

"Of course, Bolivar," President Cockrum said. "You know where it is."

Secretary Trask thanked the president and then turned to Dr. Windsor: "Come on." They left the Oval Office silently.

"Shouldn't we go with Dr. Windsor?" Pyro asked Mystique.

"No," Mystique said. "Let's give Secretary Trask the privacy that he asked for."

Once they were inside the President's private study, Secretary Trask dropped all formality and grabbed the front of Dr. Windsor's coat.

"I ought to kill you right now, Windsor," he said through clenched teeth. "How dare you drag my son into this?"

"Secretary Trask, I apologize for what seems to be a personal attack..." Dr. Windsor said, trying vainly to get the Homeland Security head to release him. "But you must admit...it is the truth, isn't it? Your son is a mutant..."

"My son is not a filthy freak of nature like those two you brought with you!" Secretary Trask bellowed. "He's a human being just like me!"

"Secretary Trask, your son was tested by the counselor at the clinic he went to...he's a mutant..."

"_MY SON IS NOT A MUTANT!"_

"Mr. Secretary, if you hate your son for what he is...don't project your hate onto the rest of mutantkind...just because you can't accept your son is different..."

Secretary Trask finally lost control. With one hand, he held onto the Mutant Affairs secretary. With the other, he punched him in the jaw.

"You had that coming—" the Homeland Security head was saying but then he noticed that Dr. Windsor hadn't fallen. The Mutant Affairs secretary simply brushed his hair back and then smiled a feral smile at Secretary Trask.

"Was that the best you can do, you genetic joke?" he asked.

"You want more?" Secretary Trask advanced menacingly. "I'll give you more—" Just as he was about to attack, though, Dr. Windsor reached out and grasped his throat. Secretary Trask felt his windpipe constrict tightly as the Mutant Affairs secretary lifted him off the floor with one hand.

"You amuse me, Trask," the Mutant Affairs secretary said. His voice, however, had changed. It had become deeper and it chilled Secretary Trask right down to his soul.

"Wh-what the hell...?" was all the Homeland Security head was able to say.

"Hell, indeed," Dr. Windsor said, his eyes beginning to glow red. In the Secret Service Control Center, the image from the security cameras showed an image of Dr. Windsor and Secretary Trask speaking with each other in a normal fashion.

"Who...the...hell..." Secretary Trask choked out as he tried to escape from Dr. Windsor's grip.

"Hell, indeed," Dr. Windsor repeated. He chuckled and the sound of it made Secretary Trask think of a snake hissing as it closed in on its prey. "Hell for you, perhaps."

Dr. Windsor lowered the Homeland Security head and forced him onto his knees. "Understand this, Trask," he said. "You are a pawn in the game we're playing. Nothing more than that. We will allow you to proceed with Project Wide Awake. It will suit our purposes after all."

Dr. Windsor's red eyes glowed even brighter. "Now, you will forget this little incident. Let us return to the Oval Office with a modicum of dignity, shall we?" He let Secretary Trask go and fixed his appearance.

"Come on, Trask," he said. "The president is waiting." He waited for the Homeland Security head to tidy himself up and then they returned to the Oval Office as if nothing had happened.

"Are you two done with your discussion?" President Cockrum asked.

"Quite so," Dr. Windsor said. "Secretary Trask apologized for his outburst."

"Y-yes, that's right," the Homeland Security head said. "It was a misunderstanding. Dr. Windsor knows that I love my son...I guess I was just..."

"No need to explain, Mr. Secretary," Dr. Windsor assured him. "As I said, your son's condition makes him no less human. And if he should ever want to join the DMA, he'll have a place there."

"Th-thank you, doctor," Secretary Trask said. "Mr. President, about Project Wide Awake—"

"I'll have to think about it, Bolivar," President Cockrum told him. "I'll inform both you and Dr. Windsor about my decision tomorrow."

"Fair enough, Mr. President." Dr. Windsor glanced at his watch. "I know this will seem impolite, sir, but I really must return to the DMA. There's so much to attend to in light of what you've told me."

"All right, doctor." The president shook hands with him. "Thank you for coming on such short notice."

"I serve at your pleasure, sir," Dr. Windsor said. He turned towards Secretary Trask. "I'll see you tomorrow then, Mr. Secretary?"

Secretary Trask nodded. "Count on it."

On their way back to the DMA, Dr. Windsor asked Mystique: "How do you feel about having three squads, Agent Mystique?"

"For the scale of the assignment that we'll be undertaking, Dr. Windsor," Mystique replied, "I think three squads is sufficient as long as we get the backup from Security. Commander Terell can be a bit difficult sometimes."

"I'll speak with him," Dr. Windsor assured her.

"Doc, what exactly is Project Wide Awake?" Pyro asked.

"It's a holdover from the former administrations," Dr. Windsor told him. "It's part of the Mutant Control Law. The 'mutant menace' was deemed as a high-priority security threat so the Department Of Defense and the National Security Council came up with Project Wide Awake. It's main goal was to adapt existing defense and security plans to combat mutants, as well as create new tactical and strategic systems to achieve that goal."

"And those giant robots—those Sentinels—are part of Project Wide Awake?"

"That's correct, Agent Pyro. One might say that the Sentinels represent the current state of the art of anti-mutant weaponry."

"And the president's actually considering letting those things loose during Magneto's trial?" Pyro's tone of voice made it clear that he saw the Sentinels as a definite danger to mutants.

Mystique weighed in with her opinion: "I hope not. Otherwise, we're all in trouble."

"I heartily agree with you," Dr. Windsor said. "Well, the decision is out of our hands. Let's just hope that nothing happens at the trial that we'll all come to regret."

The helicopter arrived at the DMA and Dr. Windsor went back to his office straight away. Mystique and Pyro went to the building where their team was being housed. While Pyro joined the rest of his teammates, Mystique entered her quarters and locked the door behind her.

She withdrew something from the trench coat that had been the only constant item of clothing in her wardrobe. Then she sat on her bunk and booted up the palmtop computer she always carried with her. She scrolled down to a particular file and opened it.

She looked at the photo, small though it was, on the screen of her palmtop. It was her—in human form, of course—and a woman by the name of Irene Adler. Irene had also been called Destiny because she could see things before they happened. Irene had hired her to help prevent some of the more awful things she'd foreseen from taking place. Mystique proved to be equal to the challenges that she and Irene faced. And with each adventure (that's what she considered them at the time; how young and foolish she was back then!), she began to see that Irene, though blind, was more than capable of looking after herself.

Of course, Irene knew almost from the start that there was something about her that wasn't normal. She guessed right away that her partner wasn't human. But that didn't bring about any judgments or any kind of the scorn that she'd met early on when she her mutation manifested itself. "My blindness doesn't mean I can't tell what kind of a person I'm dealing with," was Irene's explanation. "I am different from other people in my own way, though it cannot be seen as obviously as yours."

Their relationship metamorphosed from employer and employee to equal partners. She took Irene on as her apprentice and together they solved cases that most people would have considered impossible. They applied a combination of scientific inquiry and feminine intuition to every case and that combination proved formidable. Their professional relationship flourished. Before long, their investigative services were gaining renown beyond England, where they first met. The two of them went from one part of the world to another, always in pursuit of a mystery while, at the same time, carrying out their original task of halting the dire predictions that haunted Irene's sleep.

Inevitably, their professional relationship became something deeper. Something that Mystique had felt only a few times in her life. If it had just been the times that Irene had saved her life, she would have thought nothing of it since she usually evened things out by saving Irene's life. It was more than that. There were the moments when she would be together with Irene, in a cabin aboard a ship, perhaps, or on a train. Or when they shared a hotel room or a house. In those moments, she felt a kind of dumbstruck silence whenever she realized that she was in the company of another person.

Mystique had lived and traveled alone for most of her life and Irene's presence was something that stirred unexpected emotions. At first those emotions disgusted her—not because Irene was a woman; that meant little to her—but because she always associated such emotions with weakness. The disgust soon gave way to curiosity. Irene sensed it easily and allowed her to satisfy her curiosity. The curiosity became a hunger that burned inside her, a hunger that she never knew was hidden inside of her until she knew Irene. Irene's presence threw her solitary life in front of her as if reflected in a mirror and forced her to face what she felt in her heart and soul. Mystique looked at what her life was and decided that there was something missing. There was an emptiness there that was aching to be filled by something she had never found—until that time.

_No, not something—someone,_ she thought in the silence of her quarters. Unconsciously, a tear fell from Mystique's eye. The pain, long kept away under lock and key, came back. By sheer force of will, she kept it from overwhelming her.

Finally she admitted the truth: she had come to love Irene. Irene felt the same way about her.

Mystique touched the photo tenderly, brushing away a tear that had fallen on the palmtop's screen. In between herself and Irene was a young girl with green eyes and long brown hair. They came across her in rural America. She was living by herself, far away from the nearest town. She was a mutant that had isolated herself to keep from harming others. Her power, they learned, was the ability to absorb the memories ans skills of others with a touch. When they tried to approach her, she threatened to blow the two of them away with her shotgun. Irene, for some reason, took to the girl. After a great deal of patience and trust, the girl joined them. The three of them became a family—something that Mystique never could remember having before then.

_Anne Marie,_ Mystique thought to herself. _Irene._ They were a family and the three of them had been enough for each other. Of course, Irene could no longer go on assignments with Mystique; she had to take care of their daughter. Mystique, for her part, was no longer interested in looking for an honorable death; her suicidal courage had been tempered by the knowledge that she couldn't leave Irene and Anne Marie to face the world by themselves. Mutants were starting to emerge all over America—perhaps all over the world—and the reception this new breed was receiving was not encouraging. Normal humans saw mutants as freaks; before long, they began to see them as a danger to mankind itself.

Irene predicted with alarming frequency and even more alarming accuracy the events of the war that humanity would and eventually did declare against mutants. Anne Marie was frightened not so much by those predictions but by the thought that her parents would become casualties of that war. Mystique vowed to protect them both but the vow remained unfulfilled. Irene died before the shadow of the anti-mutant hysteria could actually touch her. Shocked by her death, Anne Marie had fled. Mystique was all alone once again.

Anne Marie. Irene. The two people she loved as much or maybe even more than herself.

Irene was dead. She was the lucky one. Anne Marie, on the other hand, was alive. And if Irene was correct, Anne Marie would be in as much danger as she herself would be once Project Wide Awake was implemented.

Mystique sat there and wept quietly. She wondered fleetingly to herself what a sight it would be if one of her team members were to see her at that moment.

_So much loss and sadness, Raven. I fear the darkness coming. And yet there will be a greater darkness—fear silenced into oblivion._ Those had been Irene's words.

Mystique's tears stopped the moment she stood up. _No, Irene, the darkness won't come—not if I can help it._

She hid the palmtop, cleaned herself up, and then went outside to speak with her team.


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Three**

Rogue put her hands to the small of her back and stretched. The sun was going down already. _Worked the whole day off,_ she thought to herself. She looked over at the tents that they had put up earlier in the day when they found a group of mutants asking for refuge outside the school gates. The three girls—Kiden Nixon, Tatiana Caban, and Laura Kinney—who'd been brought to the school after being rescued from an anti-mutant mob were circulating among them. They helped one of the students, Martha Johansson, as she went about offering first aid and words of cheer. Rogue had taken a shine to them, particularly Laura, who was mostly quiet and had abilities similar to Wolverine.

She remembered being present when Storm and Wolverine met with the three girls to ask them what their plans were after the school medic, Dr. Reyes, pronounced Kiden well from her head injury. Storm told them they could remain at the school for safety's sake...then offered them a chance to join the other students. Wolverine asked them what their powers were. Kiden had a talent for precognition and what she called "stop-time" or preventing an event taking place from completing itself. Tatiana could shapeshift into either a human-animal or a completely animal form.

When Laura's turn came, she stood in front of Wolverine, sniffed him, and then unsheathed her claws—two from the back of each hand and one from the top of each foot—and promptly attacked him. Wolverine bested and eventually restrained her but not as easily as Rogue expected he would. He then recommended to Storm that Laura stay on at the school so that he could keep an eye on her and, perhaps, even train her personally. Kiden and Tatiana, of course, decided not to leave their friend's side.

She saw Wolverine and David standing a short distance away, speaking with each other. David glanced at her and gave her a smile. She smiled back. Then she sat down on the grass and waited.

"Thanks for lending a hand on such short notice, Danger Zone," Wolverine said to David.

"No problem, Comm—pardon me—Logan," he said. "I'm always glad to help if I can."

Wolverine watched as the mutants settled into their new homes. "Looks like Storm was right when she said we were going to have company pretty soon. You say these guys came from the city?"

"Yeah." David saw Kiden Nixon, Tatiana Caban, and Laura Kinney speaking with the refugees. The three girls knew most of them since they came from the same part of the city. They had been under the protection of Absolom Mercator—himself a mutant and, David knew, a very powerful one. David had struck up a close acquaintanceship with Mr. Mercator and had even learned a few things from him and about him. Unfortunately, Mr. M (as some of the refugees called him) had problems of his own— problems that had eventually caught up with him. Now there was chaos as several other mutants—most of them criminals—tried to fill the vacuum left by his death. Agent Bishop and some of his colleagues from the FBI had been dispatched to maintain order but there was a long way to go before things calmed down enough for the mutants seeking shelter at the school to return.

"M-Day really threw a monkey wrench into the works, didn't it?" David remarked.

"Yeah," Wolverine agreed. "And Magneto's detention is turning out to be gasoline for a fire. You got any word on that, by the way?"

"From what I've learned, the International Criminal Court is still formulating the rules for the trial," David answered. "But it _is_ pushing through."

"Great," Wolverine said. "I'm almost at that point where I just want it over with."

"Good news, though: Dr. McCoy was selected as the mutant representative on the tribunal."

"Is that right?" Wolverine nodded thoughtfully. "Well, I guess he'll try to keep things fair. But I'm not holding my breath waiting for an acquittal."

"Neither am I. But if I have to testify on his behalf, I guess I will." David sneaked another glance at Rogue and saw that she was still there.

"Well, you got your reasons, I guess." Wolverine brought out a cigar and lit it. "Why don't you go over and talk to Rogue while I smoke, Danger Zone? That way you don't have to keep craning your neck so much and she doesn't have to wait."

David smiled sheepishly. "Uh, okay, I think I will."

Wolverine took a puff on his cigar. "Go on, already. But don't take too long. Bobby might pass by and turn you into an icicle. I'll whistle if I see him."

"Hey, there," Rogue greeted David as he walked up to her.

"Hey," he sat down beside her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. Rogue took his hand without a second thought.

"So—how was your day, Marie?" David asked with a chuckle.

"Good," Rogue replied, smiling. "But now that you're here, David, it's great."

They laughed; that had been there favorite greeting when Rogue lived with David for a while. Rogue leaned her head against David's shoulder and realized how much she actually missed him.

"You've been busy," she said.

"Yeah," he said. "What with Colonel Fury on the one hand and Magneto on the other, I'm lucky that the Corvinus Foundation hasn't been sending me out into the field lately."

"No vampires and werewolves, huh?"

"Well, I did get to hang out with Eric for a while. You remember him, right? Plays a mean jazz trumpet and an even meaner sword?" Rogue nodded. Somehow, David had this tendency to make some truly memorable friends. "I haven't been back to New Orleans since Katrina hit, though," he continued. "Maybe I should go back there when this is all over and see how I can help."

"Lone Ranger." Rogue kissed him on the cheek. "You're not going to have time for yourself the way you hop around from one mess to another."

"Story of my life." David smiled at her. They sat in a companionable silence for several long moments. After a while, David asked: "Marie...are you and Bobby...well...how are you doing?"

Rogue didn't answer right away. When she finally did, David could detect the sadness in her voice: "Things aren't going to well between us right now."

Carefully, David asked: "Mind if I ask why?"

Rogue sighed. "He didn't like the idea of me helping Magneto out."

"I didn't think he would." David gently squeezed her hand. "Now what are you going to do?"

Rogue kissed the back of his hand. "Give us both some time and space. I guess we both need it."

David nodded. They talked of happier things for the better part of an hour until it was time for David to leave. He got up and helped Rogue to her feet. They stood facing each other, holding hands.

"I'm glad I got to see you again, Marie," he said.

"So am I," Rogue said. "To be honest, I missed you, David." She rested her head against his chest.

"Not as much as I missed you." He playfully put his chin on the back of her head. "But I guess I've got to be going. I've got to help relocate some more mutants."

"You've really got a soft spot for mutants, don't you?"

"Yeah, I do, in general." David smiled. "Especially one in particular."

"Oh?" Rogue smiled back at him. "Who might that be?"

"She's got the most beautiful green eyes I've ever seen and a skunk stripe running down her hair."

"She must stink like a skunk if she's got a skunk stripe on her hair."

David pulled Rogue close. "She could stink like an army of skunks and I'd still have a soft spot for her in my heart."

Rogue hugged him around the waist. This was another of their private dialogues from when they were under one roof. She kissed his cheek; he responded in kind.

"Come on," David said. "Walk me to my mobile home." They went hand-in-hand to the garage where a vehicle that looked like a slightly-scaled down APC was parked.

"That's no mobile home," Rogue said as he unlocked the driver's-side door. "You stole that from SHIELD, didn't you?"

"It's mobile and it's my home, so it's a mobile home," David replied with a lopsided grin. "And I didn't steal it from SHIELD. I got it...from...well, I didn't steal it from SHIELD. Scout's honor."

"Yeah, right," was Rogue's half-joking reply.

"Listen, if any more refugees show up and you need some more supplies for Camp Xavier—tents, medicine, food, stuff like that—let me know, okay?"

"Where are you going to get all that?"

"I'll twist Colonel Fury's and Mr. Fiyr's arms," David replied. "Lord knows SHIELD and the Corvinus Foundation owe me enough."

He paused on the step leading into the vehicle. "I'll be back, Marie," he told her.

"Promise?" she asked.

He held out his hand, little finger extended. Rogue entwined her little finger with his.

"I promise," David told her. They shared one last kiss, this time on the lips. It was brief but, for both of them, it was sweet enough to last until the next time they could see each other.

Rogue kept busy for a few more hours, helping cook dinner for the refugees. Together with Kiden, Tatiana, Laura, and Martha, she rationed out the food to the mutants int their tents. She waited until they were done and then brought the dishes, utensils, and pots back to help clean up. When everything was done, she finally decided to eat dinner. The other four girls had already eaten so she had the school's dining hall practically to herself.

Once she was done, she decided to go to her room. She walked the halls alone, except for a few students who were still up, making the most of their free time. She had passed the study near her room when she heard someone call her name. She turned around and saw Kitty standing in the corridor.

"Hi, Rogue...going to bed already?" she asked hesitantly.

"Uh, yeah...why?" Rogue replied.

"I, um, I was hoping I could talk to you...but I guess it can wait..."

Rogue sighed. She had a feeling she knew what they were going to talk about. She thought about postponing it—indefinitely, if possible—but then decided to have it done with already.

"All right, let's talk," she said. "Come on." They went to the study and found it to be deserted. Rogue remembered fooling around with Bobby in a corner of that same study some time ago. The memory, however, didn't exactly help her temperament.

When they had occupied a small table near the study windows, Rogue took the bull by the horns: "What is it you wanted to talk about, Kitty?" _As if I didn't already know,_ she added mentally.

"Well...um...I just wanted to know..." Kitty began hesitantly. "Are you still...mad at Bobby?"

_Isn't it obvious?_ was what Rogue wanted to say but instead she chose to be diplomatic: "Bobby and I are still sorting out how we feel towards each other right now, Kitty. But, no—I'm not mad at him anymore." _Even if he can be such a pigheaded jerk._

"Oh...okay...that's good," Kitty remarked. "Are you two thinking of getting back together?"

"In all honesty, Kitty, I doubt if that's going to happen anytime soon." Rogue paused and then asked: "How do _you_ feel about Bobby?"

"Huh? Wh-what do you mean?" Kitty's eyes widened in surprise.

Rogue decided on a more direct approach: "Are you in love with Bobby, Kitty?"

Kitty blushed: "I-I...he's a nice guy...what I mean is—"

In another frame of mind, Rogue would've given Kitty more rope to hang herself but she'd already painted her into a corner so she figured it was time to stop beating around the bush. Besides, she was more tired than she realized. "If you are in love with him," she said, "I'm not going to stop you from getting into a relationship with him, Kitty. He really _is_ a nice guy"—_except when he's being a pigheaded jerk—_"and I guess you can make each other happy."

With that, she turned around and left Kitty in the study. If she was expecting any pain from practically handing Bobby over to Kitty on a silver platter, there wasn't any. Maybe she was just too tired—or just didn't care about such things anymore.

She fell right into bed without bothering to even remove her boots upon entering her room. The beginnings of a headache gave off dull emanations of pain in her temples. As she massaged her head wearily, she hoped that she wouldn't have those dreams that had been coming to her whenever she was stressed out. She wanted so badly to sleep.

Rogue vaguely recalled that she started having those dreams—or, more accurately, nightmares after coming back to the school. The funny thing was, some parts of those nightmares were actually pretty harmless, even nice: she was a young girl again, in the company of an older woman who treated her kindly, almost motherly, she would have said. The woman was blind but she seemed to know many things about her and even called her Anne Marie. Rogue had no memory of anyone remotely like her; when she tried to put a name to the woman's face, she couldn't.

Those parts were all right but the other parts...Rogue couldn't suppress a shudder as she thought of how she would see the woman in her dreams, looking sad and troubled—and more than just a little frightened. When she would ask the woman what was wrong, the woman would touch her and Rogue would be flooded by visions of what she had come to learn were mutants fighting a bitter war of attrition against humans _and_ other mutants. She saw concentration camps; sinister laboratories; human soldiers and mutant hunters searching out mutant outlaws in order to destroy them. The feeling of pain, terror, and death were palpable, even if Rogue knew that she was only dreaming. And when she woke up afterwards, she was thankful that she hadn't screamed herself into insanity as those visions burned themselves into her mind.

_Not tonight, please,_ she prayed. _Not tonight._ As she slowly drifted off to sleep, however, she had one last recollection of her dreams: one word that brought both an unexplainable dread to her...as well as an undefinable sense of—hope? It felt something like that.

She hung onto that word as sleep finally came to claim her.

Kitty stood outside Bobby's door. She had planned to return to her room after her conversation with Rogue. She was, in fact, already within a few feet away from her room. But then something made her turn around. Seemingly in a daze, she knew where her feet would eventually bring her.

Now she was there. Behind the door was the person that she'd been trying not to think about over the past few days. Which meant, of course, that she thought about him constantly, against her own judgment, common sense, and her friends' advice (Megan, in particular, had been very persistent to the point of annoying Kitty completely).

_This is crazy, it's curfew time, you should be in bed, _she admonished herself over and over. _Katherine Pryde, you go to your room and go to bed right this instant._ That was something her mother used to tell her whenever she had done something dumb. She'd never been big on corporal punishment so sending Kitty to her room was her favorite sanction for her daughter's foolishness.

She was about to knock on Bobby's door when she heard someone say: "What are you doing out of bed at this time of the night, Katya?" It was Colossus. He had his sketchpad tucked under his arm, as he always seemed to whenever he was at the school. In his hand there was a small—although anything in his hands tended to be small—plastic case.

"Uh, I was just...going to borrow a textbook from Bobby," she said sheepishly. Inwardly, she winced. Surely, Colossus would consider that a feeble excuse. Even she thought it was a lame thing to say.

"Ah. Is that right? Well, I would have to say that you should just borrow it in the morning," Colossus told her. "Bobby needs to rest. He's had a hard day. He actually challenged Logan to a sparring session that lasted several rounds."

"He did?" she asked. "Why?"

"Practice, he said," Colossus replied. "But Tom could see right away that he was just trying to...how do you say it...work out some steam?"

"Work _off_ some steam," Kitty corrected him. "I think that's what you're trying to say, Pete." Despite herself, she smiled.

"Ah. That must be it. He wanted to work off some steam." Colossus nodded in understanding. "Now, if you don't want to sleep yet, perhaps I could ask you to come with me to the garden."

"Wh-what for?" Kitty's heart started a trip-hammer beat in her chest.

"I am looking for someone to pose for my sketch," Colossus explained. "But so far everyone I ask is busy or asleep. You are not. Would it bother you greatly, Katya, if you were to pose for me?"

If that was a pickup line, she'd never heard it before, Kitty told herself. And to be sure, Pete _was _the school's art teacher. His paintings and sketched never failed to draw praise from the other students and staff members. His portrait of Professor Xavier hung proudly in the school's main lobby. The portrait perfectly captured the Professor's intensity and strength—and his deep-rooted kindness and compassion. Every time she looked at the portrait, Kitty always felt that Professor Xavier was still watching over the school, looking on from wherever he was, ready and waiting to answer a call for help from his students.

"Well...okay, I guess I could," Kitty finally said.

"Ah. Good. Excellent." He gestured towards the stairs. "After you, Katya. We will go to the gardens so I can practice sketching under moonlight."

Kitty led the way silently, casting one last glance back at Bobby's room.

The gardens looked beautiful under the moonlight. Colossus took a deep breath of the night air. He and Kitty were standing near the fountain. Not so long ago, Kitty remembered, she and Bobby went skating here. He had turned the water to ice and then made a pair of ice skates for himself. Then they spent an hour, maybe even two, just moving slowly together underneath the stars.

"Very well, let us begin," she heard Colossus say behind her. She turned around. He was sitting in a folding chair and had his sketchpad ready. "Now, please sit down right there," he told her, gesturing towards the fountain.

Kitty wordlessly sat down on the fountain's rim, feeling rather foolish. She had one leg folded over the other and her arms crossed in front of her chest.

Colossus simply stared at her for a few moments and then stood up, shaking his head in what may have been amusement. "No, Katya," he told her gently. "That will not do."

"How do I sit then?" she asked. She was starting to feel uncomfortable and wished silently that she hadn't agreed to pose for him.

"The way you normally sit, Katya," Colossus replied.

"This is how I normally sit," she insisted.

"_Nyet,_" he said with an upraised finger. "That is not how the Katya I know sits. When you sit like that, you look angry or maybe frightened, Katya. And you never let your anger or your fear come over you—"

"_Overcome,_" Kitty said. "You mean overcome."

"Ah. You never let your anger or your fear overcome you or show so plainly," Colossus concluded.

"Well, maybe you don't know me that well," Kitty argued. "Or maybe there are times when I feel angry or scared and I just have to let it out or I'll go crazy."

Colossus didn't say a thing right away in answer to what Kitty said. Several minutes seemed to stretch out before he spoke: "That is true. We all must let out how we feel sometimes or go crazy." He paused. "I am sorry if I forced you into posing for my sketch. Perhaps I can ask you again tomorrow." He turned and started to walk away from Kitty. She felt awful almost instantly.

"Pete," she called after him. When it seemed like he hadn't heard, she phased through him and solidified in front of him.

"Pete, I'm sorry," she told him. "Please don't..." Finally, her emotional control gave way. Burying her face in Colossus' chest, she began to weep.

Colossus held her gently and let her cry. He had an idea what was making her so sad. Finding her about to knock on Bobby's door was just confirmation of the suspicions that he, along with Tom and Logan (not to mention almost everyone else in the school), had been harboring ever since what Logan had called "the big dust-up" between Rogue and Bobby.

When her crying had died down to sobs, Colossus asked her: "Are you all right now, Katya?"

"Yeah, I guess," she said, accepting the bandanna that he'd given her. She wiped the tears from her face with it.

"Come on," he told her. "I'll take you back to your room now."

"Thanks, Pete...but would you mind it if we stayed here for a while?" she asked.

"If that's what you want, Katya," Colossus replied. "Then we shall stay here under the moonlight." He brought the folding chair closer to the fountain; Kitty returned to her place on the fountain's rim.

"Pete...have you ever, you know, wanted to be with someone you _could _be with...but then even if you could, you still felt like...you're not supposed to be with them?" she asked after a while.

Colossus pondered her question. Then he answered: "How is it that you are _not_ supposed to be with this person when you _can _be them?"

"Well...because he's supposed to be with someone else," she said.

"But if he's supposed to be with someone else, then how is it that you can be with him?" Before Kitty could answer, Colossus continued: "Katya, I will not make you feel stupid by saying that I don't know what or, I think, it is better to say _who_ you are talking about. If it is true, as I and many others think, that Bobby and Rogue are no longer together, I see no harm in perhaps you being with him."

"You think so?" Kitty asked him.

"I do," Colossus told her. "But perhaps it is better to take things slowly, _da?_ It would not do at all to rush into, as you might say it, the picture or rush Rogue out of it. Do you understand me, Katya?"

"Yeah," Kitty said. "I do, Pete." She smiled at him. "Thanks."

"Ah! That is the Katya I know!" He grabbed his sketchpad and his plastic case. "Sit right there and don't move so much, all right?"

Kitty nodded and sat patiently, watching Colossus at work. His hands moved swiftly, drawing and erasing, putting together another work of art. Kitty had to admit to herself that even she was curious to find out what it would look like once he was done.

Colossus' brow furrowed in concentration. He made several rapid strokes as he began to shade the sketch. He looked at it with a critical eye, trying to find any other flaws. He did and went about correcting them.

Finally, he was done. He stood up and approached Kitty. "Here, Katya," he said proudly. "What do you think?"

Kitty looked at the sketch. It was simple enough—it was her, sitting on the fountain's rim, looking at Colossus. But through his talent, he'd made it into something beautiful. It was as if he'd wiped away the sadness she'd felt just before he'd begun to sketch her.

"Pete...it's beautiful," she whispered, hardly daring to speak out loud as if afraid that the sound of her voice might break the magic that Colossus had wrought on paper.

"I am glad that you like it," Colossus said, clearly delighted by her awestruck compliment. He carefully removed the page from his pad and rolled it up gently. "It is yours now, Katya." He pressed it into her hands.

"Wh-what?" Kitty said, not believing what he had just said.

"It's yours," he repeated. "A gift from Piotr Rasputin to Katarina—pardon me, to _Kitty_ Pryde." He took pains to pronounce her nickname properly. "I hope it will help you to remember that you can never be...overcome by fear or sadness if you do not wish to be. You understand, Katya?"

Kitty nodded. She felt a tear rolling down her face again. But she was happy—truly happy for the gift and for Colossus' advice.

"Thank you...Pete," she said, not trusting herself to say his first name right. "I'll treasure this gift for the rest of my life."

"You are welcome, Katya," Colossus said with a smile. "Come—let us return to the mansion. I may be made of steel and the mosquitoes will not bite me but you are not."

"All right," Kitty agreed with a smile of her own.

Colossus gathered his things and then put a protective arm around Kitty's shoulders as they walked back to the mansion together.


	9. Chapter 9

"No more mutants! No more mutants!"

Toad looked down from the edge of the roof where he squatted like a gargoyle. The human goon squads were on patrol again. He thought about spitting at them but decided not to draw attention to himself while he was keeping an eye on them.

He moved silently as he followed the people below, taking care not to be detected. Things had always been rough between mutants and humans but the events of the past several days had brought about a change in the air that Toad didn't like at all.

He stopped and waited as the goons searched what appeared to be a deserted store for anything they could amuse themselves with for the evening. Finding nothing, they moved on, continuing their chant of "No more mutants!". From time to time, they added variety by throwing in a cry of "Mutants die!" into their repertoire.

Toad's thoughts turned to Magneto. The man whom he and his fellow mutants looked to for leadership and protection was gone. He was locked up in the Department of Mutant Affairs. What Toad wondered about was why he allowed himself to _stay_ locked up. He knew that Magneto could free himself and destroy the DMA as easily as he could snap his fingers. But so far as Toad knew, Magneto had done nothing to help himself—or his fellow mutants. He wasn't really counting on Mystique or Sabertooth to come to their aid. Those two looked after themselves more than they did anyone else. They didn't really care about what was happening to the rest of mutantkind. Mystique worked for money; Sabertooth simply wanted to prove his superiority to his rival, Wolverine.

Magneto, on the other hand...he cared about mutantkind. When he began his campaign to establish mutant dominance over humans, Toad willingly followed him, willingly risked his life against those who tried to stop them, like the mutants who followed Professor Charles Xavier. Although he never got to serve alongside Magneto again, the ideals that he learned from his former leader stayed in his heart.

_So why isn't he doing anything?_Toad wondered. _Doesn't he care about us anymore?_

His thoughts were interrupted by a commotion down below. The humans had caught someone. He took a cautious look and saw them surrounding a young girl. She tried to run but one of them grabbed her. Two goons tried closing in on her but Toad saw the girl's hair move and swat them back.

"She's a mutie!" one of the goons cried out.

"Grab her hair, Ferdie!" another goon ordered the man holding the girl. Ferdie tried but only succeeded in entangling his hands in her now-writhing hair. The other goons pressed in closer to help subdue her. Finally, they did. One of them took out a large knife.

"You got pretty hair, missy," the knife-wielding goon said with a leer. "We'll fix that first—then we'll fix you." He grabbed a thick lock of her hair and savagely sliced it off. The girl screamed. The knife man was about to continue cutting the rest of her hair but something knocked him into a nearby wall.

"What the—" was all one of his companions was able to say before Toad unleashed another kick that sent him sprawling with a sickening snap in his ribs.

"It's another mutie!" the goons yelled. "Get him!" Toad assumed a fighting posture. He'd learned how to defend himself on his own and he also picked up some lethal tricks from Mystique and Sabertooth whenever they found the time to teach him. For that, at least, he owed those two something despite their selfishness.

The goons charged. Toad attacked the nearest ones and incapacitated them quickly. When he wheeled around to face the others, however, he saw that a few of them were pulling out concealed handguns. He glanced over to where the girl was still being held by the thug named Ferdie. He wondered if he could move quick enough to free her and carry her away from danger.

"Nice moves, mutie," one of the handgun-carrying thugs said. "But this is where you kick the bucket." As soon as his words were out of his mouth, though, Toad saw a thick, grayish cloud cover them.

"What the—" were the last words he heard from the gun-toting thugs before they started screaming. Standing as far as he did from what he thought was a kind of fog, Toad could feel a chill coming from them that had nothing to do with any normal fog that he'd encountered. The chill from this one was like a hand trying to reach inside him and force its way down to his soul. The screams of the entrapped men sounded like the screams of the damned as they were lowered into Hell.

Ferdie watched, his face twitching as he heard the exclamations of terror and the pleadings for mercy emanating from the fog that had descended upon his friends. The girl he held took the opportunity to bite his hand hard. With a cry of pain, he let her go. The girl ran towards Toad.

"Why, you little..." Ferdie took out his own handgun and, still holding his knife, started to approach the two mutants. Toad had shoved the girl behind her to better protect her.

"I'm going to kill you both," Ferdie said. He took a few steps forward and then stopped. Toad watched him warily—and saw something come out of his chest. It was some kind of jagged object. _A bone?_ he asked himself.

Another long, jagged object ruptured Ferdie's stomach from behind. Then both objects were suddenly withdrawn. Ferdie fell forward, blood coming from him in alarming quantities. Something stepped forward and kicked him onto his back.

"Who..what..." was all he said before the shock from his wounds finally silenced him.

"You got the others, Wicked?" the woman standing over Ferdie's body—it looked like a woman, anyway, to Toad's eyes—asked someone.

The fog that had cloaked the other goons faded away. In its place stood another woman, younger than the one in front of Toad. At her feet lay the bodies of the gun-toting goons. Their faces had looks of horror carved onto them that put a chill in Toad's heart, hardened though it may have been to fear and death.

"All taken care of, Marrow," the younger woman replied. She approached Toad and the girl. Marrow nodded and the bonelike weapons she had used against Ferdie withdrew into her hands, leaving gashes that quickly healed. _She's just like Sabertooth,_ Toad observed.

"Are you two okay?" the younger woman asked.

The girl stepped out from behind Toad. "Y-yes...th-thank you so much..." she stammered. She paused as she tried to get herself under some kind of control. "Thank you for saving us...my name is Lorelei...my friend here..." She grabbed Toad's hand and pulled him forward gently. Toad was surprised at first but came quietly. "Well, I don't really know his name but he saved me too. And you saved us both."

"Lorelei." Marrow filed the name away in her mind for future reference. "I'm Marrow." She pointed at her companion. "That's Wicked." Wicked smiled at them.

"My name is—" Toad was saying but Marrow cut him off. "I know who you are," she said. "You used to hang around Magneto, right? You were part of his gang. You're Toad."

"That's right," Toad said flatly.

"Haven't seen your boss around lately," Marrow continued. "Heard he's locked up at the DMA. Looks like he's left you behind, huh?"

"No, that's not true," Toad answered hotly. "He hasn't left us behind. He's just—"

"He's just sitting in a jail cell, hoping that the humans show him mercy," Marrow said in a harsh tone. "Haven't you heard? Or seen? He's been talking like he wants to make up to the humans. And that means he's abandoned us." She turned her attention to Lorelei and the look on her face made the young mutant take an involuntary step backwards. "And you—you're one of those mutants living in those buildings, right? Living up here like you think you're _human_. Hah! You think this trash thinks you're human like them?" She tossed a contemptuous glance at the fallen bodies around them. "You're not human. You're a mutant."

She focused on her companion next. "Look at her, Wicked. Look at them both." She cocked a thumb at them. "They still think they're human. They live up here. You still think like them, Wicked? You still think you're human?"

Wicked tilted her head slightly as if to thinking about Marrow's question. Then she shook her head. "I know what you're saying, Marrow," she said. "We live underground, below the streets. You know that I like being with our gang. But I also like coming up here from time to time. Besides, I learn more about the people we're fighting when I can watch them where they live."

Marrow frowned. Wicked just looked at her, her entire body assuming a quietly defiant stance.

"Hah! One day, they'll catch you like they did her and then no one's going to be around to save you." Marrow looked back at Toad. "No one—not Xavier's students, not the DMA, and not Magneto. We're on our own, Wicked. We've got to survive on our own." She gave Toad and Lorelei one last piece of advice: "There's a war that's been going on for a while and it's gotten worse. You'd better start taking care of yourselves." Then she and Wicked began walking away from them.

"Wait!" Toad cried as they went into an alley. He leaped after them. Lorelei followed him at a run.

"What is it?" Marrow wheeled around to ask him.

"Maybe..." he began hesitantly, swallowed, and then went on: "Maybe Magneto _has_ abandoned us...I don't think he has...but _if_ he has...then we've got not one else to turn to but each other. So I think...we should help each other."

Marrow looked at him. Toad couldn't read her expression but she seemed curious, at the very least. He noticed a smile playing at the corners of Wicked's mouth.

"We should look after each other. You live underground. We live up here." Toad hopped onto a dumpster. "But you're right—we are mutants. All of us. That means we should be able to work together." He paused, remembering that Magneto told him, Mystique, and Sabertooth the same thing. "If we work together, we can make this"—he waved his arm, trying to encompass his surroundings—"these buildings that the humans don't want, these streets they prowl like...like animals to hunt us down...we can make it _ours_. We can make it a safe place, up here and underground, for mutants. If we work together."

It was only after he finished speaking that Toad realized he'd made a speech—just like Magneto. Lorelei looked at him with undisguised worship in her eyes. Wicked's eyes gleamed with the smile she was hiding. Marrow appeared bemused.

"That's what I think, anyway," Toad muttered. He got down from the dumpster.

The alley was silent for a long while. And then Marrow spoke: "You may be right, Toad..._maybe_." She turned to Wicked. "Come on. If we're gone too long, the others might get into some mischief of their own."

"We'll be seeing you again, Toad," Wicked said. Then she and Marrow opened a door further down the alley and disappeared.

Lorelei took his hand again. "Come on, Toad," she told him softly. "Let's get out of here before some more humans arrive."

"Where?" Toad asked. He didn't expect to still be around this long after rescuing Lorelei.

"I know someplace safe," Lorelei replied. Toad decided to go with her.

Lorelei brought him to what he assumed was a former human dwelling. It was a former apartment building that the previous tenants had long vacated. They went to the alley that separated it from the adjacent building. Lorelei removed a large piece of wood that blocked a basement window and then went in.

"Come on, Toad," she whispered. He followed her. When they were inside, he helped her to return the piece of wood to its former place. It was held there by some kind of mechanism that prevented anyone from inadvertently opening it.

"Where are we?" Toad asked.

"Home," Lorelei replied. Hand in hand, they left the basement and went upstairs. Just as they emerged into the first floor hallway, however, someone grabbed Toad. He struggled to break free but couldn't.

"Okay, man," whoever it was that held him fast in a steely grip said, "settle down and tell me who you are so we can find out if I let you stay or throw you out with the rest of the trash."

"Flinn, it's me!" Lorelei cried. "Let him go! He's with me!"

"Lori?" Toad felt the grip around him loosen—but just slightly. "Who's this then?"

"That's my friend, Toad." Lorelei explained. "He saved me from a gang of humans. Let him go—please don't hurt him, Flinn."

Toad felt himself being lowered gently onto his feet. "Sorry about that, man." A battery-powered lantern came on. Toad saw a tall, dark-skinned man standing in the hallway. He wore jeans, work shoes, and a tank top that showed off his sleek, muscular form.

"You saved Lori?" Flinn asked.

"Yes," Toad replied.

"Well, thanks, man," Flinn said. "And sorry for that. We're just being careful, you know? What with all those gangs running around and attacking mutants."

"No harm done," Toad said, although he was still visibly trying to breathe normally. That was when he noticed Flinn's eyes. The pupils were vertical slits, like those of a snake. Flinn noticed the look on his face.

"Don't worry, Toad," he said with a laugh. "This snake isn't eating you. Lori, take your friend upstairs. There's still some food, I think." He hefted a black garbage bag up onto his shoulders. "I've got to take the trash out."

"Okay, Flinn," Lorelei said. "Are you hungry, Toad?"

Toad nodded noncommittally. Lorelei led the way up the stairs. He followed after her, glancing down just long enough to see Flinn turn off the lantern. Then he heard a slithering sound that made his hair stand on end and nearly bumped into Lorelei as he moved quicker to get away from the slithering below.

When they were on the third floor, Lorelei opened a door and went inside. He saw people gathered there, sitting on the floor or on various pieces of furniture. A few were sprawled on the floor. "Lori!" some of them called out when they saw her come in but then fell silent when they saw who she was with.

"Hi, Momma Lynn." She was about to go right up to an older woman who sat in an ancient rocking chair near a corner of the room but was stopped by another woman and a young man.

"Who's that you brought here, Lori?" the woman asked.

"That's Toad, Guerra," she said. "He's my new friend." She recounted what happened earlier. Guerra listened thoughtfully. The young man—Lorelei had called him Zack—threw mistrustful glances at Toad. Toad ignored him. He was used to such treatment.

"Your hair's been cut," Zack observed.

"Yeah, but if Toad hadn't arrived, I'd be bald, I guess," Lorelei said. "If the other mutants hadn't arrived, it might have turned out real bad for both of us."

"What other mutants?" Zack asked.

Lorelei told them about Marrow and Wicked. Guerra's expression grew troubled. "The Morlocks," she remarked. "They're going to make things worse for all of us."

"No! No, they won't!" Lorelei objected and concluded her tale by repeating what Toad had told Marrow and Wicked. Somehow, that made Toad uncomfortable and maybe even a little unwelcome, what with the way the others in the room were now staring at him and whispering among themselves.

"Guerra, Zack—bring them here," Momma Lynn said in a voice that seemed to cut through the confusion brewing within the room. Lorelei and Toad went up to Momma Lynn with Guerra and Zack at their backs.

"Good. Now bring them something to eat." She gestured towards two cushions lying nearby. "Sit, Lori. And you too, Toad." Lorelei grabbed the two cushions and set them down at Momma Lynn's feet. She sat down and Toad followed her example. Guerra came over with two bowls of stew. Lori took them with thanks and gave one to Toad, who muttered his gratitude to Guerra.

"Eat," Momma Lynn told the two of them. Lori dug into her food. She looked at Toad, who was still hesitating. "It's good," she told him. "Taste it."

Toad began to eat and found that Lorelei was right. Before he knew it, he'd emptied his bowl.

"Want some more?" Lorelei made as if to give him some of her own food but he declined. As far as he was concerned, she needed it more than he did. He set the bowl down on the floor in front of him and waited for her to finish. When she did, Guerra came over wordlessly and took their bowls away.

"So, it seems we owe you for Lori's life," Momma Lynn said to Toad after a while. "I thank you for your help...Toad, is it?"

"Yes, that's my name. I... I just did what I was taught," Toad said. He couldn't maintain direct eye contact with Momma Lynn; it seemed her eyes were piercing through to his very soul.

"What you were taught, yes..." Momma Lynn settled back into her rocking chair. "Your teacher must be a good man, then."

Toad had to think about that for a while before replying: "I think he is."

"What you told the Morlocks...was that the same thing he believed in?" Momma Lynn asked.

"Yes," Toad answered. "He believed that mutants could only look to each other for help because humans were out to destroy us. If we don't all work together, then it's better to just let the humans round us up and take us to their jails and execute us."

Momma Lynn said: "I suppose it might surprise you, then, to know that there are humans who help us."

"Humans?" Toad said. "Yes, I suppose there are those who would help mutants but more would prefer to wipe us out."

"Little guy's got a point," Zack remarked from where he sat.

"Shush, Zack," Guerra said.

"How did Marrow react to what you told her?" Momma Lynn asked.

"She said that we'd be seeing each other again," Toad replied. "That was it."

Now it was Guerra's turn to comment: "I think Marrow's gone crazy living in the sewers and tunnels for so long."

Lorelei spoke up in defense: "Yes, but she still saved my life. Although...she didn't think we should be living in these buildings. Living like humans, she said."

Zack snorted derisively. "Yup, she's crazy."

"Marrow has a point, Zack," Momma Lynn said. "She and the Morlocks live below the city because they've been forced into the margins of a society that is supposed to thrive on diversity."

"The Morlocks have been responsible for attacking the anti-mutant mobs," Guerra said. "That can only lead to more fighting. And the anti-mutant movement happens to have the support of the government—or most of the members of the government."

"Magneto may even be on their side already," Zack remarked.

"No!" Toad sat up and faced Zack. "Magneto would _never_ betray mutantkind! He was our_ leader_, he wanted to make the world a place where mutants could live free from fear! _Magneto would never abandon us!_" Deep in his heart, though, Toad could feel a small seed of doubt that had been planted there by his own fears and watered by the words uttered first by Marrow and now by Zack.

"Believe what you want," Zack told him. "Personally, I think it's better if he stays locked up. Magneto's more trouble than he's worth."

Toad rose, fists clenched, and began to move towards Zack. The other people in the room began to clear a space for him hastily. Zack slowly got up and waited for Toad to come closer.

Guerra, however, immediately stood between them. "There won't be any fighting here—and that goes for both of you," she said. "This is a sanctuary."

Toad felt someone touch his arm gently. He looked and saw Lorelei beside him. "Toad, please..." she said softly. "You don't have to fight Zack."

Another voice weighed in: "Lori's right. And so is Guerra." Flinn stood in the doorway, his sheer physical presence radiating intimidation. He stepped into room. "Cool it—both of you."

Zack shrugged and extended his hand. "Sorry if I offended you."

With a little prodding from Lorelei, Toad accepted Zack's apology with a brief handshake.

"So—you're the Toad who used to work for Magneto," Momma Lynn said.

"Yes," Toad admitted. He had nothing else to say and he wasn't going to get away with a lie.

"You're welcome to stay for the night, if you wish," Momma Lynn said. "The streets are dangerous at this time." She got up from her rocking chair. "Guerra, Zack—please come with me. Flinn, escort Toad to a place where he can rest."

Once he was billeted to a small room by himself, however, Toad still couldn't sleep. He stared out the window and wondered, once again, just why it was Magneto hadn't made a single move since being taken to the DMA. To himself, he began to fear that Marrow and Zack were right. Maybe Magneto _had _abandoned mutantkind and—worse than that—sided with the humans. Which would mean that right now, the DMA was indoctrinating him to become a mutant hunter or even a mutant killer.

_No, no—that isn't true,_ he insisted. _Magneto would never do that._

_Then where is he now that mutantkind needs him most? _part of his mind asked. _Accept the truth: Magneto is a lost leader. And mutantkind is a lost cause._

"No," Toad muttered. "No, I won't...I won't accept that. That's a dirty lie."

"Toad?"

He looked behind him to see who had spoken. It was Lorelei.

"Can I come in?" she asked from the doorway.

"If you wish," Toad said. She took that as an answer in the affirmative so she entered his room and approached him. Toad felt an absurd urge to jump onto the windowsill as she came closer.

"I'm sorry about Zack," Lorelei told him, joining him at the window. "I guess he just doesn't trust others that easily, whether they're humans or mutants."

"Has he been here long?" Toad asked.

"He came here with Guerra," she replied. "According to her, they escaped from a government laboratory...some kind of project. I don't remember the name; I think it was Weapon-something."

"I see." Toad fell silent, digesting that information for whatever it was worth.

"Are you really one of Magneto's men?" Lorelei asked after a while.

"Yes," Toad replied. "I was with him during his first major battle here against the humans. I fought against the students of Professor Xavier."

"Professor Xavier?" Lorelei's eyes lit up. "I wish I was part of his school..."

Toad grunted noncommittally. "He trains his students well," he conceded. "They make difficult opponents."

"Really? I wonder how I would've done as one of his students," Lorelei wondered.

"Probably as well as they did," Toad found himself saying. "He'll teach you to confront your fear and face it until you win. That's why his students are so difficult to beat. They never give up. And they work together." He hammered a fist down onto the windowsill. "How I wish that we could all do the same! Marrow and her Morlocks, Flinn and you and the others here..." His voice trailed away wistfully. "If we could just work together like Professor Xavier or Magneto intended for us to do, then I say we can make the humans accept us, make them see that we can't just be slaughtered!" Then bitter reality came to him. "But no, _instead we fight against each other!_ Mutants fighting mutants! Soon the humans won't even have to do anything! _We''ll wipe ourselves out!_"

Toad gripped the windowsill, his mind burning with anger and humiliation at the thought of the petty wars that had erupted among mutants. It would weaken them—and then mankind would simply have to dispose of the remains.

"No, I won't let that happen," Toad said to himself. "I'll find a way to get mutants to work together. If I have to go down into the tunnels to fight Marrow so that she sees things my way, I will."

A hand closed over his own. The surprise he felt caused his heart to pound loudly in his chest.

Lorelei squeezed his hand gently. She smiled at him. And, in the light of the moon, Toad couldn't help but see just how beautiful he was, at least to his eyes. Although, only a fool, whether mutant or human, he thought, would ever deny her beauty.

"I believe in you, Toad," she said.

"Wh-what? You...do?" Toad wondered fleetingly what she was talking about.

"I believe in you, Toad," Lorelei repeated. She didn't withdraw her hand from his. "I believe that if we mutants _do_ get together and _work _together to make our place in this world, then mankind will eventually see that we deserve to have our place."

"I...I..." Toad stammered, wondering what to say. Finally, he settled on a simple "Thank you."

"And if you do plan on going down to the tunnels to meet with Marrow," Lorelei added, "then I'll go with you."

"You would do that?" Toad asked, unable to keep the disbelief inside him from surfacing.

"Yes, Toad," Lorelei replied. "I would—you're my friend and I know that you want to help us. All of us."

Toad was dumbstruck. He didn't know what to say to that and didn't even try to say anything.

Sensing his awkward silence, Lorelei squeezed his hand one last time. "Good night, Toad. Let me know when you plan to go see Marrow." She departed from his room quietly.

Toad watched her leave. When the door shut behind her, he resumed his post at the window, with his mind filled with thoughts and possibilities.


	10. Chapter 10

Dr. Windsor sat in the cabin of the helicopter, thinking about the events of the day.

Magneto's trial was as good as approved. The discussions among himself, Dr. McCoy, the Secretary-General, the President of the ICCt, and its Chief Prosecutor were simply for the logistics of the trial itself; that, he knew, would pose no major problems. Mystique and Commander Terell were working together without much friction; apparently, their professional courtesy towards each other held fast.

"We should be at the lab in fifteen minutes sir," one of his aides spoke over the intercom. He nodded silently.

"A penny for your thoughts," a woman sitting behind him said. "Or should I offer you more?"

"Just thinking about my work," Dr. Windsor told her without so much as a glance back. "Tell me—are your personnel on standby as I requested?"

"Of course, doctor," the woman said. "I'm prepared to lead them myself if necessary. And I'm sure Lady Oyama here"—she gestured towards another woman, this one seated beside her—"will be more than willing to accompany me if I ask her politely."

"It would be good practice," Lady Yuriko Oyama agreed. "And besides, I owe you, don't I, Dr. Innocenta?"

"Lady Oyama, I did what I was sworn to do, according to my profession," was Dr. Innocenta's answer.

Cassandra Nova sat in her wheelchair. She didn't fidget, much as most people who've been kept waiting long would be wont to do. She wasn't the type to waster her energy on something so pointless as that. She maintained her self-control by meditating. It did nothing to lessen her impatience towards their supposed host—wherever he was—but it did help prevent her from destroying something to pass the time.

She looked over to where Sebastian Shaw and Jason Wyngarde stood. They spoke softly, no doubt discussing their respective businesses. Shaw may have been trained in the sciences but he was still a merchant at heart. She knew that his loyalty was based solely on the profit that he would gain from the fruits of their labors. The same could be said for Wyngarde, although his greed was balanced out by the desire to see that his daughters could live their lives in comfort and security. She didn't begrudge them that. Necessity did make for strange bedfellows, she knew from her long and varied experience.

Shaw's eyes wandered to the small, upright figure in the wheelchair nearby. Sinister was really pressing his luck by making Cassandra wait so long.

They were gathered in the office of the former administrator for the laboratory complex that they had come to in the dark of night. _Very theatric, _Shaw said to himself. _Truly like conspirators meeting in odd places at odd hours._ Perhaps Cassandra would enjoy the joke but he wisely kept it to himself. Cassandra's ill temper was nothing to be taken lightly.

"What's taking Essex so long?" Wyngarde asked. "We arrived here an hour ahead of him."

"Perhaps he had to deal with some matters at his workplace," Shaw opined. "I must wonder why he had to take that job instead of joining us."

"Because that's where he's ideally suited, Sebastian," Cassandra spoke from where she sat. "His position in the government is perfect for the purposes to which we're committed."

The door to the office opened and one of Wyngarde's daughters entered the room. "He's here," she announced.

"Is he alone, Regan?" Wyngarde asked.

"No, I sensed two others with him," Regan Wyngarde replied. "It's probably his two aides."

"Excellent," Cassandra said, mentally wheeling her chair forward. The door opened of its own volition and she left the office to go to the heliport behind the laboratory complex. Shaw, Wyngarde, and Regan followed her at a respectful distance.

Gambit was out of the helicopter as soon as Sunfire had set it down, even if the main rotor was still spinning. He opened the cabin door and out stepped Mr. Sinister. His smile was more sharklike than usual. He was immediately joined by Dr. Innocenta and Lady Oyama. As soon as they had landed, the two women had begun scanning the surrounding area for any kind of threat. Of course, that was Gambit and Sunfire's job but the two women made a good backup for them, in any case.

"Well, well—looks like Mr. Wyngarde is here," Gambit remarked when he spotted Martinique Jason, Wyngarde's younger daughter, walking towards them as the aircraft's engines died. She was a dark-haired, somewhat dark-skinned, statuesque beauty that never failed to captivate Gambit whenever he saw her. A lot of people thought that Martinique's older sister was the more beautiful of the two of them. Gambit admitted that she was lovely to look at but he still preferred Martinique's smoldering exoticism to Regan's cool, standoffish demeanor.

He brushed his hair back with his hands. Normally, he would be wearing a suit in his normal capacity as an aide to Dr. Windsor but he was off duty. In which case, he wore head-to-toe body armor and a trench coat. He adjusted the collar of his coat using the helicopter's cabin window. His reflection reflected the smile with which he planned to flatter Martinique.

Inside the aircraft, Sunfire looked with some scorn at his fellow aide. Although Shiro was not immune to female beauty, he didn't crave for it as much as Gambit seemed to. Gambit often said that it was his obligation as a man to make a woman happy and he did so by unleashing his charm upon them. It didn't work all the time, of course, but no matter how much Sunfire pointed that out, Gambit still considered it part of his duties to flirt with any female he regarded as pretty. To the Wyngarde sisters' credit, Sunfire thought, they didn't allow themselves to be distracted by Gambit's preening whenever they were within close proximity of him.

"Yes, I expected that he would be here," Sinister commented. "Jason Wyngarde is one of the key players in our little game. And so are his daughters."

"Welcome, Mr. Essex," Martinique greeted Sinister as he approached her with his entourage. "Madame Cassandra, Dr. Shaw, and my father have been waiting for you."

"Good evening, _cher_," Gambit spoke before Sinister could answer. "Sorry if we kept you waiting." He smiled at her, turning the full force of her charm on her. Beside him, Sunfire let out a small snort of disdain. He kept himself from telling Gambit not to act like a fool.

"I can accept your apology, sir," Martinique said to him, favoring him with a smile of her own, "but I believe the apology should be directed to Madame Cassandra."

"That won't be necessary, young lady," spoke Cassandra. She sat in the passageway leading into the labs from the heliport. Shaw and Wyngarde flanked her. Regan stood to the right, a little distance away from the them. "I'm sure that Mr. Essex has a good reason for making us come here in the middle of the night and for making us wait so long."

"Indeed I do," Sinister assured her. "And I beg your pardon for the long delay, Madame Cassandra. Come—I've much to report." He walked into the passageway, his shark's smile still intact despite Cassandra's impatience. She wheeled along beside him. Shaw and Wyngarde followed them, speaking with each other. Regan and Martinique brought up the rear along with Gambit, Sunfire, and the two women that Sinister had taken along with him.

"What might this interesting report be, Essex?" Cassandra asked.

"The trial will push through." Sinister replied. "Already, the DMA's Legal Office is taking depositions form potential witnesses." He chuckled. "Surprisingly enough, there are actually people who are willing to testify in Magneto's favor."

"It won't matter," Shaw spoke up. "Magneto's as good as guilty. It's time for that old man to make way for us." He knew very well that mutantkind had long regarded Magneto as their savior, despite his failures to defeat Professor Xavier and install mutants as the dominant species on Earth. For some strange reason, Magneto was capable of reaching out to mutants and making them believe that supremacy over humans was their destiny. Not equality—supremacy. And he certainly did exert his best efforts towards achieving that goal. But his chance to take control of the world had passed. Shaw knew that the future of mutantkind rested on their shoulders now. Magneto was in his cell, tired and defeated. He and his allies, however, were only getting started.

"True enough," Wyngarde agreed. "He's past his prime." He was a Magneto loyalist himself but he didn't think it would do his daughters any good to gamble their future on someone who allowed himself to be taken captive without a struggle.

Cassandra, however, objected. "We don't want him found guilty. We want him to be acquitted. It does no good for us to have him jailed or even executed."

"I would think that would be the optimum course of action," was Regan's opinion. "Leave him alive and he can oppose your plans, Madame Cassandra."

"Young lady, if Magneto were jailed or killed, he would become stronger than he ever was," Cassandra told her. Wyngarde's daughters were brilliant, she thought, but they also suffered from a lack of foresight. Then again, they were still young, she reminded herself. "He would become a martyr, a symbol for mutantkind. Perhaps not all mutants might follow him but a great many will. Leave him alive and show them that his feet are made of clay and they will be ours to command."

"You are saying then, Madame Cassandra," Sunfire said, "that a quick death in this case will not serve to defeat the enemy?"

Cassandra stopped and wheeled around to look at Sunfire. Immediately, the others near him stepped away from him. Shaw, Wyngarde, and Sinister watched the seemingly imminent confrontation with interest.

Instead of chastising or even punishing him, however, Cassandra actually smiled. Here was a mutant who understood her way of thinking. From what she knew of him, he once studied under Professor Xavier. Before that, he actually worked alongside Mystique. _What an interesting education that must have been for him,_ she thought. _And now he works for Essex. _

Cassandra bowed in acknowledgment of Sunfire's insight and told him: "Yes, Mr. Yoshida—that would be correct. It is good that you come from a culture that understands such ideas."

Sunfire bowed humbly. "Thank you, Madame Cassandra."

Sinister smoothly stepped in at that point. Proud as he was of his subordinate, he had other things to take care of that demanded his time. "Come, Madame Cassandra, there is something else that we need to discuss tonight."

Cassandra moved forward alongside Sinister again. Behind them, Gambit nudged his partner. "You're a smart boy, Shiro. I think Madame Cassandra is impressed by you, isn't she?"

"She would be impressed by you as well, Remy," Sunfire said, "if you bothered to do something other than playing around with women." Regan and Martinique heard his comment but said nothing; this little interplay among the two partners amused them.

_Mr. Yoshida has his own charm, doesn't he, Martinique? _Regan telepathically asked her sister.

_I still think LeBeau is handsomer, _Martinique replied. _But then, Yoshida does have certain merits._

The sisters shared a laugh. Gambit glanced back at them. "Something funny, _cher_?" he asked them.

"A private joke, Mr. LeBeau," Regan replied. "Nothing more."

Sinister brought them to one of the laboratory facilities. As they stood outside a pair of electronically locked doors, Shaw asked: "What the devil is this place, Essex?"

"It used to belong to a biotechnology company," Sinister explained. "It was owned by a former colleague of mine. You may have heard of him: Alexander Breedlove."

"I think I have," Shaw said. "He was a geneticist, wasn't he?"

"One of the most brilliant geneticists I've ever had the pleasure of working with," Sinister said. "He made his fortune by creating living weapons for the government. He was in charge of several advanced research projects that served as the basis for such programs as Weapon Plus and Weapon Prime. Even SHIELD did business with him, although I'm quite certain that they knew he had Nazi ties during the Second World War." He smiled at the memory of those days when his research made significant progress due to the widespread availability of materials for his work and the near-unlimited funds that were poured into his experiments by the Third Reich. His star pupil had been almost as enthusiastic as he was; together; they made discoveries that had amazed their fellow scientists. It was with some regret that Sinister learned of his death later on. Josef was almost like a son to him.

They came to one of the end of one of the restricted wings. Signs posted throughout the area repeatedly warned that unauthorized personnel would be dealt with using deadly force. Sinister deactivated the devices that locked the doors and led the way inside. Some of the equipment used in the lab were familiar to Shaw but there were many that he'd never seen until then. Wyngarde looked around in wonder at the machines surrounding them.

"If I'm not mistaken," Dr. Innocenta spoke up, "this facility is set up for cloning, isn't it?"

"Correct, doctor," Sinister said. "I know your specialty is cybernetics but I'm pleased that you know of this technology."

"I should, considering as how I made some of it—with Madame Oyama's generosity, of course," the woman Sinister called Dr. Innocenta said.

"Ah, yes, that you did. Well worth the cost, I must say." Sinister went to a bank of computers and began to activate them. "I made my own modifications based on your original designs."

"It's a scientific marvel," Dr. Innocenta agreed. She inspected the equipment admiringly. She knew that Sinister was a brilliant scientist. She came to him some time ago to learn about genetics, a field that she felt could intersect with cybernetics. Intrigued by her ideas and more than a little impressed by her ambition as much as her intelligence, he agreed to take her on as a student. The lessons that he taught her were nothing less than cutting edge. He didn't content himself with recycling old theories but constantly pushed the envelope to formulate whole new paradigms.

In turn, Dr. Innocenta imparted her knowledge of cybernetics to her teacher. Sinister quickly found out that her considerable expertise wasn't merely academic but came from practical experimentation on test subjects—as well as herself. Her fervent desire to meld what were considered to be two different branches of science further endeared her to Sinister, who gave her the ultimate honor of assisting in some of his projects.

"You're a cyberneticist?" Martinique asked Dr. Innocenta.

Dr. Innocenta nodded. "The Lady Oyama here was one of my patients. Show them if you please, Lady Oyama."

Lady Oyama removed her gloves and a set of foot-long claws emerged from her fingers.

"I know you! You're Deathstrike!" Wyngarde exclaimed. "You were with Colonel Stryker!"

"That was the past," she said. "And my name is Lady Yuriko Oyama."

"You're a cyborg now?" Shaw asked with some interest.

"I enhanced her mutancy with technology, Dr. Shaw," Dr. Innocenta answered. "Personally, I think it's an evolutionary step. If nothing else, though, she's a much better fighter now." There was a note of pride in her voice. Yuriko Oyama had been left for dead at the late Colonel Stryker's Alkali Lake headquarters. She accompanied Sinister there when he was in search of more research materials for what he said was a major project. She discovered Lady Oyama, unconscious and half-drowned, on the rocky shore. With Sinister's approval, Dr. Innocenta took her to her own laboratories and performed several operations on her that saved her life and, inevitably, restored her to her full lethal form. Even Dr. Innocenta's best cyborg soldiers couldn't defeat her. Yuriko Oyama was living proof of the possibility of combining cybernetics and genetics.

Lady Oyama smiled noncommittally at Dr. Innocenta's compliment. Her fighting skills were the product of training under her brutally exacting father. Of course, he enhanced her physical form to make her a more dangerous combatant but he always stressed the importance of practice and of self-improvement. Thinking about that, she wondered with a predatory smile what he would think of his daughter now. And on the heels of that thought, she wondered what Logan would think of her now—and if he would still be able to defeat her. She doubted it, although she was realistic enough to know that the outcome of their next fight was still unknown. That still didn't stop her from relishing the opportunity to match skills and wits with him again.

Cassandra paid no attention to the conversation going on behind her. She watched Sinister as he prepared his machines. When he was ready, he gestured at her to accompany him into the room on the other side of a glass window fronting the computer banks. When she saw what was waiting for her inside, she spoke with an awe that surprised Sinister: "Is this...the project?"

"Yes, Madame Cassandra," Sinister said. "I've completed the work that you commissioned."

"Is it ready?"

"Of course." Sinister smiled at her. "If you wish, we may begin the final procedure."

"Leave me," she said. "I think you can do your work from outside."

Sinister nodded and exited the room, locking the door behind him.

Cassandra sat there for several moments, looking at the large cylinder before her. Various apparatus that the original scientists who once worked in the laboratory would be unable to recognize, much less operate, were attached to the cylinder. The clear plastic canopy that allowed a glimpse inside the cylinder was still shut.

_So long,_she thought. _So long did I wait for this._ No longer would she be confined in the wheelchair that had become a part of her. Soon she would be able to move about freely and completely. And with that would come the ability to carry out her plans fully. It was a thought that made her smile a horrible, shrunken smile.

_You thought you'd won, Xavier,_ she said silently. Charles Xavier tried to rob her of her life when they were so much younger. Although he failed, she was left in a vegetative state. Through her sheer force of will, she rose from what was thought to be her deathbed. Unfortunately, Xavier made her a cripple. It took years before she could get herself under enough control to be able to live—if crawling like a worm or, later on, being bound to a wheelchair could be called living. But as time passed, her abilities manifested themselves and she trained herself to use them to attain her objectives. Though her body was frail, her mind grew stronger until it possessed the power to match that of Xavier's own mind.

To her disappointment, though, she learned that Xavier was dead—murdered by his most precious student. The irony didn't escape Cassandra; she knew that he also tried to control his students with his mind tricks.

Cassandra closed her eyes and began to concentrate. She gathered her psionic energy, building it into a coherent force. Despite the coolness of the room, beads of sweat began to form on Cassandra's wrinkled brow. This time, she wasn't simply performing a feat of telepathy or telekinesis. This time, quite literally, she had her life on the line. If she failed or made even the slightest error, she would have to wait years, decades even, to have another chance like this.

Sinister watched her from in front of the computer bank. He motioned for Dr. Innocenta to join him. She removed her long coat and the other mutants saw that she had six arms. Two were human, two were covered with some kind of exoskeletal system, and two were sheathed in metal. Sinister checked the readouts on the monitors and entered a command into the computer to make certain adjustments. Dr. Innocenta went to another computer and went to work herself.

"You didn't cybernetically enhance the subject itself?" she asked him.

"No," Sinister replied. "But the neural networks that you implanted into the system are still hooked up to her."

Dr. Innocenta nodded. "Her blood pressure's rising."

"Is it stable?" He ran his fingers over one of the keyboards.

"Stable." One of Dr. Innocenta's other arms reached for an adjacent keyboard and began to follow his lead, typing in the necessary instructions to keep the project in equilibrium.

"Her brainwaves are becoming irregular," Shaw commented. He had joined them quietly and was observing their work.

"Instabilities, Dr. Innocenta?" Sinister asked.

"No," she replied. "Baseline brain functions are still normal."

Wyngarde spoke: "She must be transferring herself then."

Sinister nodded contemplatively. "I suppose she is."

The others gathered around the computers. About an hour later, Dr. Innocenta reported: "All readings are returning to baseline level." Sinister confirmed Dr. Innocenta's assessment and typed a final command into the computers.

"What's happened to Madame Cassandra?" Gambit asked, looking at the monitor that showed the video feed from inside the other room.

Cassandra Nova was slumped forward in her chair. Sinister was certain there would only be minimal life readings at best. He made a mental note to keep the body in storage anyway.

The power in the laboratory suddenly died. The emergency systems kicked in a few seconds later. The lab looked positively eerie in the reddish light. Sinister told the others that they simply had to wait and they all did so silently.

Cassandra opened her eyes and saw that she was inside the cylinder. She could hear the sounds of from the different devices that were attached to the cylinder in order to keep track of her bodily functions.

_I'm alive,_ she thought. Through the clear plastic, she could see her body—her _former_ body, she amended—bent forward in the wheelchair. Fortunately, the restraints had kept it from falling. Despite all the trouble that it had caused, she still felt a certain sentimental attachment to it.

She pressed her hands against the canopy. When it didn't budge, she decided to test her mental powers and sent a focused thought command towards the curved piece of metal and plastic. At first, it stayed shut but eventually gave way when she pushed it harder with her mind. There was a brief, dull flash of pain that Cassandra ignored completely. With the canopy open, she slowly came out of the cylinder. Her steps were wobbly and uneasy. Cassandra willed her unsteady legs to function properly. Instantly, her body obeyed her mind. Fortunately, she didn't have to worry about clothing since Sinister had dressed her prior to the procedure. Not that it would have offended her in any way to be nude, of course, but this made things so much simpler.

She stood there in the darkened room, the red emergency lighting coloring the walls as if with blood. She looked at her hands, used them to touch her body, to feel her legs. The mere act of standing brought a strange sensation to her; then again, that was to be expected after spending most of her life without ever having been on her own two feet. She walked towards the door, relishing each step she took.

The door was locked. Although there was no power, the lock had a mechanical backup that kept it from being opened by someone who had no business coming into or going out of the room.

Cassandra stared briefly at the lock and willed it to open. It did. She entered the control room. The other mutants stepped back the moment they saw her approach them. Only Sinister and Dr. Innocenta stood their ground. Sinister was smiling at her.

"Ah, so—how was it?" he asked her.

Cassandra spoke: "Most excellently, Essex. You've done very well."

"Cassandra?" Shaw asked hesitantly. "Is that you?" The others said nothing, disbelieving the figure that stood before them. To their eyes, they saw Jean Grey, Professor Charles Xavier's greatest student.

Cassandra turned towards him and the other mutants who kept their distance from her. "Cassandra Nova served her purpose but I expect that Essex will keep her body for future use."

Sinister bowed. "Of course," he said. "And perhaps...I might even be able to improve upon it—with your permission, of course."

"You have my permission," Cassandra said.

"What do we call you now, Madame Cassandra?" Dr. Innocenta asked.

"My name, you mean?" Cassandra's voice trailed off as she closed her eyes. The power she possessed was incredible. Shinobi Shaw had been right when he said that she would be able to rewrite history. She smiled, obviously pleased with herself and with the results of Sinister's work. She stood proudly in front of them with outstretched arms. The electricity to the lab—and the entire complex—returned with a single thought from her mind.

"What will you call me, you ask?" Cassandra told them. "There was a quote from Hindu scripture...Robert Oppenheimer supposedly spoke those words at the first detonation of the atomic bomb: 'I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.' "

She paused, letting her mind stretch out to encompass her power. She felt a fleeting regret that Xavier was no longer around to see her and to face her vengeance. On the other hand, she was now in possession of his beloved student's body, not to mention her powers. Besides, his students would suffer for him as her plans progressed.

"Now _I_ am Death...and I am Life," she continued. "I am Creation and Destruction...I am Genesis and I am Apocalypse." She began to emanate a fiery red aura that seemed to ignite the very air itself. The other mutants had to turn away. Sinister didn't; he was too busy basking in the glory of work more than well done.

"From this day onward," the woman once known as Cassandra Nova declared, "I am _Perfection._"


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter Four**

The school gym was quiet as Rogue did her exercises. This was another thing that she and David shared during their time together. He taught her several martial arts but the one she enjoyed most was an obscure one that he claimed to have learned at Fort Caine. At first she had been skeptical about it but, when she found herself able to stand her ground alongside him when she joined him in his work, she threw herself into her training enthusiastically. There were times when David had to warn her not to over-exert herself.

She was already well into her tenth fighting form when she sensed, rather than saw, someone watching her. She looked over at the door to the gym and saw Laura standing there.

"You're up pretty early," she remarked, brushing her hair back with her hands.

"I couldn't sleep," Laura said softly. Rogue was one of the few people that the young mutant actually spoke to on a regular basis—regular, of course, meaning that she gave her more than a blank stare or a monosyllabic statement. Her taciturn nature led many of the other students to believe that she was learning-impaired but that wasn't the case. She actually did well in her classes and showed an intelligence that was above average. Even Wolverine knew that Laura was more than what she seemed to be and regarded her with a wary respect that few of the other staff or students ever received.

"Want to join me, then?" Rogue asked her. "I couldn't sleep either so I decided to work out."

"Yes, I'd like that," Laura replied. Rogue told her to step onto the practice mat and, after letting her stretch, began to lead her through the same _kata _that she'd been doing, starting from the first form. They stood face to face so that Laura could see how each form was done. After a few minutes, Rogue saw that she had picked up on the technique and allowed her to lead.

When they were done with the _kata_, Rogue asked: "You want to try a little sparring?"

Laura nodded, an eager smile lighting up her face.. She always seemed to enjoy the prospect of a fight; in that, Rogue thought, she was exactly like Wolverine. _Like father, like daughter_ was her private joke about them.

"No claws, okay?" Rogue told her. "I don't have claws so it wouldn't be fair."

"No claws," Laura said in agreement.

They bowed to one another and then began to circle each other warily, looking for an opening. Laura, of course, attacked first. Rogue didn't have time to wonder if it was a feint or is she had spotted a flaw in her defense. She gave way a little against Laura's assault. Even then, she could see that the young mutant seemed to have mastered the _kata_ almost instantly. Rogue decided to use her relatively greater experience and began to counterattack. Laura gave ground—and then adapted quickly and modified her attack to drive Rogue back once again.

The simple rhythm of bodies and limbs filled Rogue and drove away the dark thoughts that had driven her out of bed so early. As she feared several nights ago, her dreams had returned. Once again, she was seeing the woman—her name still remained unknown to Rogue—sharing her growing fears. She was seeing the war between humans and mutants unfolding in her head. She was seeing the final, endless darkness.

And again, that one single word that now seemed so important, that seemed to be her only shelter during those nights when she would toss and turn in her bed, disturbed by the images seen by her mind's eye, and wake with dread building in her heart.

Laura, however, noticed the distraction, however subtle it may have been, in Rogue's attack. She dodged a flurry of hits, feinted, and then went in and knocked Rogue down onto the practice mat. Instantly, however, the young mutant was kneeling beside her, asking if she was all right.

"Yeah," Rogue answered. "That was my fault." She allowed Laura to help her up. "That was a good move. Looks like I need to practice some more."

"You weren't concentrating," Laura told her simply.

"Good point," Rogue said. "I have to keep that in mind." She brushed the young mutant's hair back from her eyes. Laura flinched slightly but didn't let her claws loose. "You need a haircut soon," Rogue remarked.

"I do?" Laura asked uncertainly.

"Yeah," Rogue said. "I'll take care of it." She smiled at the young mutant. "One more round?"

"Yes," Laura said. She and Rogue immediately took up combat positions once again.

A couple of hours later, Rogue hit the showers. She didn't run into anyone—especially not Bobby or Kitty—and for that she was grateful. Word had spread around the school that she gave a deposition favorable to Magneto at the DMA Legal Office. The staff, of course, respected her decision but not a few students privately questioned her loyalties or her state of mind for apparently siding with Professor Xavier's opposite number. Rogue, of course, didn't ignore their opinions completely but she didn't let it sway her decisions with regards to Magneto either.

Back in her room, she began to dress up, silently thanking David for convincing her to buy at least one outfit that looked formal. She thought about wearing the clothes she used for the Professor's burial but realized that Magneto probably didn't need to be reminded about that event.

There was a knock on her door. "Come in," she said. A small explosion behind her told her automatically who it was. She turned around and saw Nightcrawler.

"Hi, Kurt," she greeted him, using his real name. "What is it?"

"Storm just wanted to know if you were ready," he replied. "The FBI agent assigned to take you to the DMA is on his way."

"Is it Agent Bishop?" she asked.

"No," Nightcrawler answered. "I believe it's another agent since Agent Bishop informed Storm and Logan that he was required at the DMA."

"All right," Rogue said. "Thanks, Kurt. Tell them I'll be right down."

"_Ja,"_ Nightcrawler said. He was about to leave but then asked her: "Rogue—are you sure about what you're doing?"

"You mean supporting Magneto?" she replied. Nightcrawler nodded.

"I'm sure. I know that most of the students still think that he's a bad man and all that but then...some of us weren't exactly on the right side of things when we came here."

"_Ja,"_ Nightcrawler smiled at her encouragingly. "I know _Herr_ Logan has a past that he wishes he could both remember and forget...I have my own sins to atone for, myself..."

"And you're doing a pretty good job of it," Rogue told him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Not that I think you've really done that much wrong in your life—at least not deliberately."

"Ah, perhaps not in your eyes..." Nightcrawler began but decided not to dwell on his past. "Be brave, Rogue. Do what you believe to be right."

"Thanks." Rogue gave him a kiss on the cheek before she left her room. Nightcrawler teleported himself back to the headmaster's office to inform Logan and Storm that Rogue was ready for the day.

Wolverine stood in the doorway of the mansion as the car drove up to him. Two agents got out and approached him.

"Good morning," one of them greeted him in a polite voice. He had two scars that looked as if they'd been surgically treated but still marred his face. "I'm Agent Dwayne and this is Agent Oliver. We've been assigned to take one of your students to the DMA for Magneto's trial."

"Good morning," Wolverine said. "She's getting ready. Would you two gentlemen like to come in for a cup of coffee?"

"That would be nice," Agent Dwayne said. They followed Wolverine into the mansion. As they walked towards the dining hall, Wolverine spoke: "Agent Dwayne and Agent Oliver...who thought your names up? Wait—it was you, wasn't it, Wade?"

"Well, yeah," Agent Dwayne said. "How did you know it was us?"

"He probably smelled us," Agent Oliver guessed. "Am I right, Logan?"

"That's right, Chris," Wolverine answered. "Besides, a face like Wade's got, you don't easily forget it."

"Hey, don't knock it," Agent Dwayne said, laughing. "The ladies love it."

"Yeah, I'm sure they do," Wolverine remarked. Inside the dining hall, they got their coffees and sat down at an unoccupied table. "So, why did Bishop send you two?"

"Agent Bishop and his crew were busy at the DMA," Agent Wade explained. "So I'm pretty sure that he's not going to mind a few extra hands."

"A mutual friend got us the cover," Agent Oliver added.

"Who?" Wolverine asked warily.

"Someone who's been in the danger zone like we have," Agent Oliver said. Wolverine understood immediately; he figured that David would want extra security for Rogue. His choice of personnel, though, seemed a bit odd; Chris and Wade were pros, to be sure, but a bit extreme.

"By the way, Logan," Agent Dwayne whispered, leaning in close, "I heard that this student of yours was one foxy chick—is it true?"

"Yeah, Wade, she is," Wolverine told him in a low, serious voice. "And I'd appreciate it a lot if you didn't make a move on her that isn't part of your job." One of his claws slid out for emphasis.

"Hey, hey—don't get your chest hairs in knots," Agent Dwayne said, holding up his hands in a placatory gesture. "I don't have any untoward intentions towards her."

"You'd better not," Wolverine warned him.

"This is good coffee, Logan," Agent Oliver interjected, trying to keep a fight from breaking out. He knew that Agent Dwayne was an excellent hand-to-hand combatant but Logan could kill him in a heartbeat.

"That it surely is," Agent Dwayne hastily agreed, grateful for the exit that his partner had given him. "I didn't know you guys had Blue Mountain blend here."

"It isn't Blue Mountain but it's close," Wolverine said. "The coffee here has been better since a few of the people we've got camped out here decided to work in the kitchen."

"Oh, yeah, we saw them on the way to the house," Agent Oliver said. "Our mutual friend says that you should be prepared for a some new ones coming. Things are getting bad in the city, Logan."

"You should have been there when me, Maverick here, and Danger Zone went cruising," Agent Dwayne said. "We had to step into a whole bunch of fights, mostly anti-mutant bully boys stomping mutants who didn't have the ability to fight back."

"We also saw some mutants that did fight back," Agent Oliver added. "They were worse than those anti-mutant gangs. It was kill or be killed with them. We tried following them but we lost them under the streets."

"Under the streets?" Wolverine set his cup down. "Sounds like the Morlocks."

"Morlocks?" Agent Oliver looked puzzled. "I think I've heard of them...a gang of mutants living in the sewers or something like that?"

Wolverine nodded. "That's them. Their leader's name is Marrow."

"Anyway, Danger Zone is making contact with the other mutants in the city," Agent Dwayne finished his coffee. "He's probably going to try to organize them and hook them up with the Mutant Underground. By the way, he said any supplies you need, let us know so we can pass it on to him."

"Food, medicine...probably clothing," Wolverine said. "He can ask his friends in the Underground for help, I guess." He spotted Rogue coming towards them with Storm and Nightcrawler. He stood up. "Hey, Rogue—meet your FBI agents for the day: Agent Dwayne and Agent Oliver."

"Pleased to meet the both of you," Rogue said, shaking hands with both of them. She was a little surprised that she was assigned two agents but perhaps that was all for the best. Meanwhile, Agent Dwayne cocked an eyebrow surreptitiously at Wolverine. He glared at him in warning.

"Shall we escort you to the car, ma'am?" Agent Oliver asked.

"If you're done with breakfast, gentlemen, then I think we should probably leave," Rogue answered.

"All done, ma'am," Agent Dwayne assured her. "The coffee here is very good."

"Glad you enjoyed it," Wolverine said. "Now hit the road."

Rogue looked at Wolverine quizzically; he responded with one of his "I'll-tell-you-later" expressions.

"This way, please," Agent Oliver said. As they walking out of the dining hall, the students who were there began to whisper among themselves. The two agents and Wolverine, having sharp hearing, picked up on the general thread of their comments.

Agent Oliver glanced at Rogue and could tell that she probably knew what they were saying. He whispered to her: "Just keep walking, ma'am. People are like that, sometimes. Even the ones we figure should know better."

Rogue nodded silently, knowing all too well just how true the agent's words were.

"You be careful out there, all right?" Storm told Rogue when they reached the agents' car. "And don't let anyone get to you."

"I won't, Storm," Rogue told her, giving her headmistress a hug.

"Hey, kid," Wolverine said to her, "you really sure about this?"

"Yeah," Rogue answered. "I figure I owe it to the Professor—and myself."

"And Magneto?" Wolverine looked at her evenly.

"And Magneto," Rogue admitted. "Listen, I promise, when I get back—"

Wolverine put a hand on her shoulder. "No rush, kid. I just want to make sure you know what you're doing."

"I do," Rogue said determinedly.

"All right. Get out of here or you'll miss the hearing for today." Rogue hugged him. Then she boarded the car as Agent Oliver held the door for her.

"You take care of her, all right?" Wolverine told the two agents.

"She'll be safe, sir," Agent Oliver assured him. "Count on it." He closed the door behind Rogue and then went to the driver's side. He got in and started the engine.

"Don't worry about a thing," Agent Dwayne said. "We'll bring her back alive and in one piece." He entered the car and, a few moments later, they were on their way out of the school premises.

"Well, that's that. It's out of our hands now," Storm said.

"I told her to be brave," Nightcrawler remarked, watching the car leave. "And to do what she believes is right. She's a good person, my friends. God will keep her safe."

"Maybe so," Wolverine told him, "but we're still going to back her up just to be sure. You ready?"

"Yes," Nightcrawler said. "But I do wish that I didn't have to leave my class. Ah, well—I'm sure Talia and Piotr can handle it."

"Your kid and Laura are getting along well," Wolverine remarked. "She's real good, Kurt."

"That she is and I thank God that He gave me such a wonderful daughter," Nightcrawler said. "Speaking of God, where is His servant?"

As if in answer to Nightcrawler's question, a winged figure swooped down from the sky and landed lightly beside him.

"Right here, Mr. Wagner," Warren Worthington said. "I'm all set."

"All right," Wolverine said to them, "remember to stay out of sight."

"Understood, Logan," Nightcrawler assured him. "Are you sure you can carry me, Warren?"

"Can do, Mr. Wagner," Warren said with a thumbs-up sign.

Storm checked her watch. "That's enough of a head start, I think. You'd better get going, Warren."

Warren spread his wings and hovered a several feet above the ground. Nightcrawler teleported himself up into the air where Warren caught him.

"Good hunting!" Wolverine called out to them as they flew off after the car containing Rogue and the two agents.

"I hope Rogue doesn't mind our sending Warren and Kurt after her," Storm said.

"You'd rather that we went?" Wolverine asked her.

"No," Storm replied. "Honestly, I don't think I can face Magneto just yet."

"Neither can I," Wolverine agreed. "Come on—let's see what the other kids are up to."

The ride into the city was quiet to the point where Rogue nearly fell asleep. When they entered the city, however, she quickly saw that things were anything but quiet.

Police cars passed them by several times. On some streets, there were motorcycle- and horse-mounted units. As they traveled towards the DMA, however, she saw that it was the crowd-control units that were the busiest as they tried to keep various groups from engaging in physical hostilities. Most of the people Rogue saw were carrying banners and signs expressing their opinion regarding Magneto and mutantkind in general. None of those opinions could even be remotely considered as kind.

Rogue leaned back in her seat and scrunched down lower. Despite the tint on the windows, she didn't want to read any more signs. The scene outside reminded her too much of her dreams. To her, what was happening in the streets seemed to be a prelude to the dark visions that haunted her sleep.

The car came to a stop at a red light. As they were idling, a small band of protesters stood right in front of their car and began chanting anti-mutant slogans. Their hand-lettered banner featured a crudely-made image of Magneto wearing a Nazi uniform. Rogue almost laughed at the ludicrousness of it.

The light turned green. The protesters, however, didn't budge.

Agent Oliver blinked the lights at them. That didn't get them moving. He tried a short series of bursts from the horn. Still no movement.

"Move the car," Agent Dwayne told him.

"You mean back up?" asked his partner.

"No, I mean move forward," Agent Dwayne said.

Agent Oliver stepped on the accelerator lightly and the car inched forward. That only made the protesters close in on the car, banging on the hood and knocking on the front windows and windshield.

"Maybe we should back up," Rogue suggested. She didn't like the way the protesters were acting.

"Forward," Agent Dwayne overrode her. Agent Oliver nodded and the car began to move forward slowly to give the man that had suddenly mounted the hood a chance to get off. He did so awkwardly. But the group still blocked the way and were still hammering away at the car.

"Hmmm...what do you think?" Agent Dwayne asked his partner. "Time for something drastic?"

"Just make sure it's non-lethal," Agent Oliver advised his partner.

"Okay," Agent Dwayne agreed. "Stay at the wheel. We may need to make a quick exit."

Agent Oliver nodded and suddenly stepped on the gas. The car leaped forward a few feet, giving them breathing room. In that instant, Agent Dwayne stepped out and approached the protesters. "Please move away from the car," he said. "FBI business."

"Yeah?" one of the protesters taunted him. "What if we don't want to, FBI Man?"

"You'd better," Agent Dwayne told him simply. "And that goes for all of you."

The protesters dropped the sign and brought out a motley assortment of knives, pipes, and clubs. Agent Dwayne didn't even seem to notice their weaponry. He warned them again: "Step away from the car and let us pass or there's going to be trouble."

"Here comes trouble, FBI Man!" one of the protesters said, swinging a club at him. Agent Dwayne's arm moved swiftly; in mere seconds, the club was cut in half and the man holding the short end of it was staring at two _katana_ in Agent Dwayne's hands.

Another protester tried to attack the agent but met an even harder fate: he was disarmed and bent over the hood of the car with one of the _katana_ blades held right at his nape.

"The next one who moves towards me or this car," Agent Dwayne said in a conversational tone, "gets to explain to this maggot's next of kin why he lost his head." The man he held at sword's edge blubbered for his friends not to leave him—which is what the other protesters did after dropping their weapons.

Agent Dwayne pulled the man up and yanked him close to his face. "Remember this, maggot—tell your friends...tell all your friends...I'm not going to be so nice the next time I see you. So you'd better make sure I never see even so much as a hair on your head. Got it?"

The man nodded desperately like a broken marionette and begged Agent Dwayne not to kill him. The agent turned him around and gave him a kick in the seat of his pants to get him going. Once the man was out of sight, Agent Dwayne returned to the car.

"Great," he said, eyeing the stoplight. "We already had a green light and those idiots made us wait for another one."

"Slick move, man," Agent Oliver said.

"As always," Agent Dwayne said with a chuckle. The light turned green and they resumed their journey.

Rogue finally spoke up: "Okay, I know FBI agents are good at self-defense but I don't think they're allowed to carry swords. So who are you guys really?"

Agent Dwayne looked at his partner: "Are you going to tell her or should I?"

"I guess I should," Agent Oliver said.

"You always get to do that," Agent Dwayne protested.

"Okay—you tell her. I have to drive, anyway."

Agent Dwayne turned towards Rogue. "Well, to begin with, we're not really FBI agents," he explained.

"I had that figured out when you drew the swords, mister," Rogue said.

"Yeah, nice, aren't they?" Agent Dwayne said with a touch of pride. "Anyway, we're friends of a couple of friends of yours. One's Logan. The other's Danger Zone."

"David?" Rogue couldn't believe it. "David sent you?"

"Yes, ma'am," Agent Oliver said. "We're in the same line of work as he is and like Logan used to be."

"Small world, huh?" Agent Dwayne asked with a grin.

"Yeah, I guess so," Rogue said, smiling despite herself. "So—what are your real names, if I might ask?"

"Well, I go by the name Deadpool most of the time," Agent Dwayne said. He cocked a thumb at his partner. "My buddy here is called Maverick when he isn't impersonating an FBI agent."

"David and Logan sure have interesting friends," she remarked.

"That they do, ma'am," Agent Dwayne said.

"May I ask how you all met?" Rogue said.

"Well, funny thing about that," Agent Dwayne told her. "We _could_ do that, nothing wrong with that, but then we _might_ have to kill you afterwards."

"Oh, I get it." Rogue fixed a wry look at him. "Top secret stuff, huh? Black ops or wet work or whatever you call it."

"Exactly," Agent Dwayne said, smiling broadly.

"Actually, ma'am," Agent Oliver chimed in, "we all met when we had to yank Deadpool's carcass here out of a real big mess that he'd gotten himself into somehow. It was kind of top secret but I don't see the harm in telling you after the fact."

"Man, now I'm going to have to kill you," Agent Dwayne told his partner. "That's classified stuff you just mentioned."

"How can it be classified when you wandered into a warlord's territory while you were drunk out of your skull? You walked right up to his fortress—"

"Not so," Agent Dwayne corrected his partner. "I had to dodge a few booby traps and a bunch of guys shooting at me."

"And how you did that in the state of inebriation you were in still boggles the mind," Agent Oliver told him.

"Ever heard of muscle memory?" Agent Dwayne asked. "It's how Michael Jordan can shoot the lights out when he's playing. His body memorized the correct position to sink a basket. _My_ body has memorized the mechanics of defusing mines, avoiding tripwires, dodging bullets, and disarming armed attackers without the use of a weapon."

"Right—and after all that, you walk right up to the warlord's door and urinate on it," Agent Oliver said. "They literally caught you with your pants down."

"No—I got my pants back up. I just hadn't zipped my fly shut yet." Agent Dwayne looked at Rogue. "And just because he and Logan and Caine couldn't get inside that place the way I did, he still blames me for the whole thing."

"Yeah, well, we couldn't leave you there," Agent Oliver said. "After all, we look out for each other. That's what friends are for. Isn't that right, ma'am?"

"That's right, Agent Oliver—I mean, Maverick. Thanks for looking out for me," Rogue said. "That goes for you too, Deadpool. Tell David when you see him that his friends are a good bunch."

"He's in town for the trial, ma'am," Agent Oliver said. "Who knows? You may just see him around."

"That's good," Rogue told him. "I would like to see him again."

"Well, we'll let him know," Agent Dwayne said, turning his attention back to the street ahead.

"Did you see that, Warren?" Nightcrawler asked as he watched the car pass by below him.

"I did," Warren replied. "It looks like Rogue won't have to worry much by way of protection."

"That's certainly true," Nightcrawler agreed. He took a small communication device out of a concealed pocket in his jacket and plugged a miniature headset into it. He spoke briefly to someone and then waited for a reply. He got it a few moments later.

"What did Storm and Wolverine say?" Warren asked.

"They said that we should at least follow them as far as the DMA and then we can return to the school."

"All right, then." Warren spread his wings once more. "Let's see if anything else happens that might be interesting. Maybe we can help out the next time they get in trouble, Mr. Wagner."


	12. Chapter 12

_The day has come._

That was Magneto's first thought when he woke up on the morning of his trial.

As he prepared himself before his lawyer arrived, he realized that the thought of what might happen during the trial brought no fear to his heart. In a way, there was a small sense of relief at the knowledge that he no longer needed to run or to hide from his fate. His actions throughout his life had brought him to this pass and there was no use in thinking that he was cheated in any way. His decisions had been his own to make.

The intercom made a decorous sound. "Mr. Lehnsherr, you have visitors to see you. It's your daughters, sir."

"Thank you. Please let them in." Magneto waited for the security personnel to let Wanda Maximoff and Lorna Dane inside. He smiled as he saw them enter his cell.

Lorna came in first, carrying what looked like a picnic basket. "Hi, dad," she greeted him, hugging him tightly. "Wanda and I brought you a couple of surprises."

Magneto kissed her on the cheek by way of welcome. "Oh? And what might those surprises be?"

"First of all," Lorna told him, "we brought you breakfast. After all, you need to be strong for the trial." She opened the basket and began to unpack the food that she and Wanda had brought him.

"How very nice of you," Magneto said with a smile. "This is indeed a surprise. And I must say, it's good to eat something homemade for a change."

"That's not all." Lorna looked towards the doorway where Wanda stood. She reached for something behind her. After a few moments' coaxing, a little girl peeked from behind her.

"Who—?" Magneto started to ask but one look at the girl told him immediately who she was.

Wanda entered the cell with the little girl holding her hand. Magneto knelt and looked at her, hardly daring to believe his eyes.

Wanda knelt beside the girl and whispered to her: "Luna, this is your grandfather, Erik Lehnsherr." The little girl smiled shyly at him but continued to hold Wanda's hand in a tight grip. "Go on, don't be afraid," Wanda said. "Go over and say 'hello' to him." She squeezed Luna's hand gently, as if for courage, and then let go.

Luna walked towards Magneto with unsure steps. She glanced at Wanda, and then at Lorna. They both nodded at her. Luna finally closed the distance between her and Magneto.

"Hello...grandfather," Luna said tentatively. "My name is Luna Maximoff."

"Hello, Luna," Magneto said, unable to keep the tears from his eyes. "I'm very happy to meet you." He held out his hand. Luna took it. She allowed Magneto to draw her closer and accepted his embrace.

Wanda wiped a tear away from her eye. She had waited so long for this moment. Lorna wasn't even trying to keep her usually cool nonchalant demeanor; she was weeping with joy at the sight of the two generations of their family finally meeting each other, despite the circumstances that brought it about.

When Magneto let her go, Luna was smiling. She reached out and wiped the tears from his face. "Grandfather, you look like my father," Luna said to him.

Magneto looked at Wanda briefly. She nodded imperceptibly.

"Do I?" Magneto said to his granddaughter. "Well, your father is my son, after all."

Luna stepped closer, looking at him intently. Then she asked: "Grandfather, why are you...blue?"

"Blue? What do you mean, Luna?" Magneto asked.

"She's an empath," Lorna explained. "She can see a person's feelings as a color—an aura, you might say, dad."

"And my...color is blue?" Magneto asked his granddaughter.

"Yes," Luna replied. "You're happy...but you're also sad. At the same time?"

Magneto asked her: "Luna, did your mother tell you why I was in this place?"

Luna nodded. "She said you were being kept here...so you were safe...and that today, the people who...own this place...would decide if you could leave."

"Well, your mother is correct," Magneto said. "That's why I'm...blue, as you say. I'm sad because I can't...go home. But I'm also happy because I've finally met you."

"Aunt Lorna said that you've been away from home for a long time. Where did you go?'

Magneto sighed. As much as he wanted to tell Luna everything, she wasn't old enough to handle the truth yet. One day, he vowed silently, when he could spend time with her, he would tell her the whole story. "I had to leave your mother and father," he told her, "because I had to do something very important."

"When you can finally leave here, will you come home with me and my mother and Aunt Lorna?" Luna asked.

Magneto embraced his granddaughter once again. She responded in kind. "Yes, Luna," he told her softly, "I promise—when I can leave this place, I will go home with all of you. And I will never leave you ever again."

"Thank you, grandfather," Luna said, smiling radiantly at him. "I'm going to wait for you to come home."

Magneto kissed her on the cheek. "Are you hungry, Luna?" he asked.

"No...but I think you are, grandfather," she replied. "I helped mother and Aunt Lorna to make breakfast for you."

"Is that so? Well, let's find out if you cook as well as your mother or your Aunt Lorna."

While they were eating, Luna sat next to Magneto, making sure that her grandfather got to taste everything that they had brought him.

_How do you feel, father?_ Wanda asked him telepathically.

_I feel quite fine,_ Magneto told her. _And I thank you for letting me see Luna._

_She's your granddaughter. You have every right to see her and she has every right to know you._

Magneto smiled slightly, wondering if she would have let Luna come to him if he was still leading the war against humans.

_Perhaps not then,_ was Wanda's reply.

Lorna cut in: _Not fair, dad. You and Wanda are talking to each other without including me again._

_My apologies,_ Wanda told her. She forgot that her sister wasn't a trained telepath. Of course, neither was her father to begin with but he'd learned under Charles Xavier. He rarely used that ability, though, preferring his own mutant powers to get his point across. Wanda extended her telepathic range to include Lorna. _There you go. Now you can join our little conversation._

_What were you two talking about?_ Lorna asked a bit laboriously. She had a sharp mind and Wanda often said that she was the more intelligent of the two of them. However, that didn't mean it was easy for her to learn how to communicate telepathically.

_About Luna,_ Wanda replied. _About how long it would have taken for her to know that she had a grandfather._

_I see, _Lorna said. _Well, dad, we would have let you meet her sooner but..._

_I understand,_ Magneto assured them both. _Keeping her from me until now was the safest course of action._

_I only wish Pietro could have been here too,_ Lorna said. _That would have made things more...complete, I guess. After all, despite everything, he _is_ Luna's father._

_Lorna, _Magneto chided her gently.

_No, father,_ Wanda interjected. _I don't let it bother me anymore. I made a mistake—probably the worst mistake in my life with Pietro—but something good came out of that mistake. _

_That is so true,_ Lorna said. She watched as Luna offered a piece from her cinnamon roll to Magneto. He took it from her fingers and shared it with her. Luna smiled at her grandfather. _Look at her—all that matters to her is that she's part of a family._

Wanda gave Magneto a napkin to wipe the crumbs off her lips. _Yes, that is all that really matters, isn't it?_

When it was time to leave, Magneto knelt in front of Luna and asked her: "Did you enjoy your visit, Luna?" By the tone of his voice, it was as if Luna had come to see him at his house and not in a high-security detention facility.

"Yes, grandfather," Luna answered. "I want to visit you again. May I?"

"Of course," Magneto told her. "I'd like that very much."

"I love you, grandfather." Luna hugged Magneto tightly.

"And I love you too, Luna," he said to her, holding her close. "And I promise—I will come see you when I leave here." In that moment, Magneto wished that he was at home with them. He wished that his life had taken different turns and directions but, once again, he knew that those wishes were moot at this point. He was able to get to know his granddaughter, however briefly it was. That would have to do unless he was given another chance. And if not, well, she still had her mother and her aunt. And he was a part of her—her blood and his were the same. Hopefully, at the end of all this, she would be able to live in a world where she would be able to make a name for herself without his shadow falling on her.

"I'll wait for you, grandfather," Luna told him. "Me and mother and Aunt Lorna."

"Thank you, Luna," Magneto said. Wanda whispered something to Lorna. Her sister nodded and spoke to Luna, who took her aunt's hand. At the doorway, she waved to her grandfather. Magneto responded with a smile. Then they walked out, leaving him with Wanda.

Wanda said something softly. Then she looked at her father. "Now we can speak privately, father."

"What is, Wanda?"

"Father...have you forgiven me...for what Pietro and I did?" Wanda asked haltingly.

Magneto looked at his eldest daughter. She was very much his child, proud and strong. But that didn't mean that she was perfect. If the events of the past several days demonstrated anything, it was that none of them—not him, not Wanda, not even Lorna—could lay claim to being superior in that regard. Despite what she said about not being bothered by Luna's parentage, under his gaze, Wanda seemed to become a child once more.

"Wanda, if you could forgive me," he told her, holding her hands, "how could I not have forgiven you by now? As you said, it was a mistake. If I must blame anyone, let it be me for not being there for my children." That was true enough, Magneto knew. He wasn't present at their birth. His memories of that time were dim but he could remember having been separated from his wife, Magda, when a mob of bigots who attacked them and set their home on fire, causing their first child—a daughter named Anya—to burn to death. In his rage over Anya's death, his powers were loosed upon the mob, killing them all. Afterwards, he fled his crime and never saw Magda again. It was only much later in his life that he learned about Wanda and Pietro. His crusade against mutant oppression, however, took priority over everything else. And when he did try to reach out to them, they rejected him, as much for his terroristic activities as his abandonment of them. Perhaps it was their isolation that had resulted in what they did (or maybe it was a symptom of the madness he saw in Pietro when he joined his army at some point). In any case, it was over and done with. There was no point in laying blame at his children's feet. And he was not about to abandon Wanda or Luna, not even now when his life seemed to be nearing its end.

"Father..." Wanda fell into Magneto's arms and held onto his neck, weeping like a little girl.

"There, there, my daughter," Magneto soothed her, "all will be well. Just remember that Luna, despite her parentage, is no mistake. Love her for me since I cannot be there to do so myself."

"Yes, father," Wanda said. "I will." She kissed him on the cheek. Magneto produced a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped her tears away with it.

"I'll see you at the trial, Wanda," he told her.

"We'll be there, father," she assured him. "All three of us."

"How are my nephews and nieces, by the way?" he asked as he escorted her to the door.

"Doing well enough, father," Wanda replied. "They're at home and they hope for your safe return."

Magneto nodded. "That's what I'm hoping for myself."

When Wanda, Lorna, and Luna had left, Magneto sat down on the couch and closed his eyes. To the security personnel watching him, he appeared to be taking a nap. Actually, he was meditating, mentally steeling himself for what lay ahead.

He heard the intercom chime. "Mr. Lehnsherr? Your lawyer is here," one of the security personnel announced.

"Let her in," Magneto said without opening his eyes. A few minutes later, the door opened up and Evangeline Whedon stepped inside his holding cell. She was a pleasant young woman who was one of the last two on his list of possible defense attorneys. The other had been Matthew Murdock but he was currently tied up with another case. Upon learning that Evangeline was his alternate choice, Mr. Murdock wholeheartedly endorsed her to Magneto, informing him that she was a highly competent lawyer who seemed to have a keen insight into mutantkind's problems with mankind. The fact that she had also interned at Murdock and Nelson, helping him and his partner Franklin Nelson with their arguments and briefs, was another point in her favor. Magneto agreed to hire her. Evangeline, of course, met with him several times as much to learn about his case as to get a measure of him as a person. After their last meeting, she took his case _pro bono._

"Good morning, Mr. Lehnsherr," she greeted him, putting her briefcase and a cardboard box down on the table. "How do you feel?"

"I feel like I want to vomit, Ms. Whedon," Magneto replied, eyes still shut. "Like I want to lock myself in the bathroom and stay there until this is all over."

"Are you ill? Maybe I can get a continuance until—" Evangeline said. That was when Magneto opened his eyes and smiled at her.

"I'm joking, Ms. Whedon," he said. "I feel perfectly healthy."

"Goodness," Evangeline said, "I don't think I'll ever get used to you joking around so much. No offense meant, Mr. Lehnsherr."

"None taken," Magneto assured her. "I don't think I've ever joked around this much in my lifetime." That was quite true. His sense of humor had always been submerged deeply inside him and it surfaced only on the rare occasions when he met someone who seemed to be more serious or grim than he was. The first one who brought it out was Maya, the young girl whom he befriended during a run-in with a renegade team of government-sanctioned mutates. Then there was David and Rogue. Lastly, there were his students. Although his own childhood was bereft of much joy, he made it quite clear to them that youngsters such as they were not entitled to view their being metahumans (that was David's term for them) as a dead-end life. It took time but they eventually learned that lesson and took it to heart, two of them in particular—Victor Mancha, who seemed to be burdened by a vague predestination and Chase Stein, who mourned his friend, Gertrude Yorkes (in young Chase's eyes, she was likely more than that, Magneto saw right away), who sacrificed her own life to save his during the chaos that followed after M-Day. Those two soon realized that life, for all its imperfections, was still worth living and that they still had something worth fighting for.

"Is Nico with you?" he asked after a few moments. Nico Minoru was the acknowledged leader of his students, even if Chase Stein was the eldest among them. Aside from herself, Chase, and Victor Mancha, there were also Karolina Dean and Molly Hayes.

"No, sir," Evangeline said. "She's looking after her brothers and sisters. But she sends her love."

So Nico and the others were together. That was good. "Ah. who else is with them?"

"I believe their Uncle Dee is, sir. There's nothing to worry about—they're at his apartment and they're in secure mitts." Evangeline spoke the last word with a certain emphasis.

Magneto took the hint immediately. "That's good to know." Silently, he blessed David for making himself available despite what he knew was a brutal schedule under Colonel Fury.

"Oh, and one of them wanted to you to have this." Evangeline opened the box and brought out a dark maroon hat with a tiny stylized "m" sewn in similarly colored thread on the band. He smiled. This would undoubtedly be Molly Hayes' idea. She had a collection of rather charming hats that she would wear on different occasions. Although Chase Stein sometimes teased her for it, she ignored his jibes and often created hats of her own design for her friends to wear. Rogue encouraged Molly's hobby and wore the hats the young mutant made for her with pride. Even David had two of his own.

Magneto took it and stood in front of the mirror as he tried it on. It went well with the suit that he'd picked for his court appearance. "What do you think?" he asked Evangeline.

"It looks good on you," she said, smiling.

"Tell my niece that I appreciate her gift," he said. "So, tell me, Ms. Whedon—have you any idea what the day will bring?"

"I've got about fifteen minutes to brief you, sir," Evangeline began. "We'll be escorted to the courtroom and the trial will begin at nine o' clock. There will be no jury at the trial but there are representatives chosen by the UN and approved by the ICCt who've been given the right to question you but the presiding justice will make the final ruling once all the facts are presented."

"What are the charges that they're bringing against me?"

Evangeline opened her briefcase and took out a folder full of documents. She read off the first page: "Planning and undertaking a conspiracy to commit a crime against peace; planning and undertaking wars of aggression; and planning and undertaking crimes against humanity."

Magneto laughed but this time it sounded like it was stuck in his throat.

"What is it, Mr. Lehnsherr?" Evangeline asked.

"I seem to remember a similar trial," Magneto replied. "If I remember correctly, it was conducted at Nuremburg."

Evangeline was unable to comment. The irony of Magneto being subjected to the same trials as the Nazis was a bitter reality for him to face.

"If you want, sir, I can question the validity of such a trial," she suggested. "We can have the rules changed. Perhaps we'd do better with a jury trial."

"Ms. Whedon," Magneto said, "given my reputation, there would be no one willing to volunteer for such a jury. Should there be anyone who would actually be willing to serve on that jury, they would have to be out of their right minds to set me free, no matter how the facts may appear to be on my side. That would set off a full-scale war between man- and mutantkind."

_He's right,_ Evangeline thought. More than anything else, her client wanted his trial to prevent such a thing from taking place. So he was willing to play the game by the rules set by his opponents no matter how unfair those rules appeared to be.

"In any case, I have the fullest confidence in you, my dear," Magneto added. "Mr. Murdock picked you to defend me and I know that he would not have selected anyone but the best for this case."

"Frankly, Mr. Lehnsherr...I'm nervous," Evangeline admitted, eyes downcast. "More than nervous, honestly—I'm scared."

"Come now, Ms. Whedon," Magneto told her. "You've been in court before. If I remember correctly, you've been actively involved in the mutant-rights movement. You've defended several mutants who were unjustly accused simply because they weren't human. You were also instrumental in placing Jimmy, the boy that Worthington Labs had co-opted for their anti-mutagen, in the custody of the Xavier School For The Gifted."

"Yeah, but that was simple compared to this," Evangeline said. "Like you said, there's going to be a war if I don't do this right."

Magneto came closer to his lawyer, standing no more than an arm's length away from her. In a firm yet soft voice, he told her: "Evangeline, look at me."

The young lawyer did as she was told. As their eyes met, it struck Magneto that she and Rogue were alike in many ways. With their courage and strength, much good could be done—if they would simply believe in themselves in spite or, better, _because_ of the challenges that came their way.

Magneto held out his hand. There was a coin in his palm.

"What's that for?" she asked.

"Watch." Magneto focused his attention on the coin. Little by little, it began to rise until it hovered in the air between them.

Magneto then closed his eyes. He concentrated and his power reached out, touching the video cameras and microphones that monitored his cell. Each device began to die out. DMA Central Security began to panic as none of the security technicians could get the cameras back online. An alert was sent out to the personnel guarding the floor where Magneto was kept. Squads of them began to converge on Magneto's cell—Mystique, Pyro, and Pulse included.

"Mr. Lehnsherr, what are you doing?" Evangeline asked, her voice edged with alarm.

"Ms. Whedon, what did they tell you about my powers?" he asked in return. His eyes were open and they were blazing—with anger? Evangeline couldn't tell for sure.

"They said your powers were gone," she replied. "So how—?"

"My powers were merely repressed by my contact with a member of Mystique's team," Magneto told her. "His name is Pulse, I think. No doubt he's on his way here right now to try and stop me."

"Mr. Lehnsherr...please, stop this..." Evangeline told him. "This isn't going to help you in any way..."

Magneto closed his eyes once again. Moments later, the coin fell into his palm. The monitoring devices in his cell reactivated themselves.

"So it won't," he said. "I believe I could escape from here, if I wanted to badly enough. I've done many things that I didn't think I was capable of in order to survive. But this time, my dear Evangeline, there is so much more than my own life at stake."

He placed the coin in Evangeline's hand. "I need your help, Ms. Whedon," he said in all earnestness. "I am no longer fighting for my freedom but for the freedom of every mutant in the world. If we do not convince the world that peace between mankind and mutantkind is possible, my acquittal will mean nothing."

Evangeline looked at him intently (Magneto noted that her eyes were reminiscent of dragon's eyes). Finally, she spoke: "You don't really care what happens to you?"

"A life lived without regard for other lives has no worth," Magneto remarked. "Even I knew that I would have to pay a price for my actions one day."

"That's a pretty high price that you're willing to pay, Mr. Lehnsherr," Evangeline said.

"Better I pay it now," Magneto remarked, "than let the next generation of mutants pay it in my behalf. Don't you agree?"

Evangeline was quiet. And then: "You know, don't you?"

Magneto nodded. "It's a good enough reason to have for doing what you do, Ms. Whedon."

"Did Mr. Murdock tell you?"

"No. I've lived long enough to be able to know."

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you earlier," Evangeline said.

"There are some things that we all wish to keep private," Magneto remarked. "I wouldn't have asked."

"Thank you, Mr. Lehnsherr," Evangeline said. "And I will help you. Count on it."

Commander Terell's face suddenly appeared on the TV inside Magneto's cell. "What's going on in there, Lehnsherr?" he demanded. "If you've taken your lawyer hostage, you'd better believe that I'm personally going to take you down for it."

"He hasn't taken me hostage, Commander Terell," Evangeline spoke up. "I'm all right. Mr. Lehnsherr and I were simply having a discussion about the trial."

"Is that so? Then why did the cameras and mikes all die out?" Terell insisted.

"They're back online now, if I'm not mistaken, Commander Terell," Magneto said. "If there was any damage, I'll be glad to offer any form of compensation for it."

"Very funny, Lehnsherr," Terell retorted. "Damaging government property is a crime. Maybe they should add that to your indictment."

"I believe they may have already done that, sir," Evangeline answered.

"Your discussion is over, counselor," Terell said. "Your escort is on its way. And I expect no more trouble from you, Lehnsherr."

"Of course not, Commander Terell," Magneto answered. "Forgive my outburst. I merely wanted to underscore certain personal points of view that I was sharing with Ms. Whedon."

There was no reply from Terell. Instead, the intercom beeped and there was an announcement: "Mr. Lehnsherr, your escort detail has arrived."

"Is Mystique with them?" he asked.

"I'm here, _Herr_ Lehnsherr," Mystique said. "It's time to get going, sir. We wouldn't want you to be late for your trial."

"A fair trial, followed by a first class hanging," was somebody's remark in the background. The sound of bodies clashing and dead weight dropping followed soon after.

"Sorry about that, _Herr _Lehnsherr," Mystique said afterwards. "I'd like to apologize on Mr. Stills' behalf. He regrets the remark that he made a while ago. I'm certain that the tribunal will perform their duties fairly."

"I'll have to take your word for that, Mystique," Magneto responded. "I'm in no position to do otherwise. But then, I have a very good lawyer to represent me in court. She's quite brilliant, if I may say so myself."

"Thank you for your confidence, Mr. Lehnsherr," Evangeline said.

"You're quite welcome." He picked up his overcoat and his walking stick. "Let's see what the day will bring, shall we?" To Evangeline, he looked as if he was going on a pleasure trip of some kind, maybe a walk in a park or a visit to a friend. He certainly didn't seem to be afraid of the very real possibility of his execution looming on the horizon. _Then again_, she thought, _after what he's been through in his lifetime, death is probably the last thing he fears._


	13. Chapter 13

"**_Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, this is Irene Merryweather for IGBS News. I'm reporting live from the Department for Mutant Affairs here in New York where the trial of Erik Magnus Lehnsherr, also known as Magneto, will be taking place in a few hours' time._**

"**_The mood here is tense but cautiously optimistic. The full might of the DMA's security forces has been deployed to protect the participants in Magneto's trial from harm as the hearings gets underway. Special agents from the FBI and several units from the National Guard have also been posted here to complement the DMA security personnel."_**

Agent Bishop stood in front of the Legal Building's main entrance. Janice Wisdom, Commander Terell's immediate subordinate, was with him. She was dressed in her battle gear, complete with weaponry. Her helmet's faceplate was up and her face mask was off while she and Agent Bishop were engaged in their discussion. Colonel Rudolph Hardcastle was listening to Bishop intently, offering a comment or two. There were several DMA security troops, plain-clothed FBI agents, and National Guardsmen surrounding them.

"Well, today we're going to find out just how good we all are, isn't that right, Agent Bishop?" Deputy Commander Wisdom said.

"That's one way to put it," Bishop remarked. "How are your men, Colonel Hardcastle?"

"Ready for action, Agent Bishop," the Guards CO replied. "We've got some men there who were part of that fight at Alcatraz and some who had to clean up in the city afterwards. They know the score."

"That's good to know," Deputy Commander Wisdom said. "We're glad to have you here with us, sir."

Bishop held his hand up. "Stand by." He pressed his ear piece lightly. After a while, he spoke: "All right—Commander Wisdom, Colonel Hardcastle, the show's getting started." Colonel Hardcastle nodded and ran to his jeep. He barked out an order and his aide drove them away from the Legal Building. Commander Wisdom deployed her men to several prepositioned areas. Bishop entered the building, followed by his agents.

Agent Tessa Clareburne watched Magneto on the monitors in Central Security Control. "Mr. Lehnsherr is on his way to the elevators," she spoke into her headset. "They'll be down in approximately ten minutes."

"What does it look like?" Agent Bishop asked. He was standing in the hallway leading into the symposium hall that had been turned into the courtroom for the trial.

"Nothing out of the ordinary," Agent Clareburne replied. "He hasn't repeated his little trick of turning off the audio-video feeds."

"That's a relief," Bishop remarked. "How's traffic?"

"Traffic is moving, Agent Bishop," Captain Stone, one of the DMA security officers, said. "We've got yellow alert for aircraft and surface vehicles. The presiding justice and his alternate have arrived and are being escorted to the Legal Building as we speak."

"Copy that." Agent Bishop saw the lights above elevator doors along the side of the hallway that led to a secondary door to the Legal Office area turn green.

"**_The trial is being held under the aegis of the International Criminal Court and will be presided upon by Judge Robert Chalmers, a former justice of the Supreme Court and current advisor to President Cockrum on international law. His alternate is Judge Katherine Alwina, who holds the distinction of being the first and only mutant thus far to become Chief Judge of the New York State Court Of Appeals. She is, at present, a US Supreme Court justice and an acknowledged expert in international humanitarian law._**

"**_Observers within the legal community have noted that the choice of Judge Chalmers and Judge Alwina sends out a strong statement that this trial will be as fair as possible for Magneto, despite his fearsome reputation and his known record of criminal activities." _**

"This is Mystique—we're coming down," a voice said over his earplug. Bishop walked towards it with four other FBI agents and two four-man security squads. One of the squads immediately took positions right in front of the elevator. The other squad flanked the FBI men. They readied their weapons as the elevator descended.

"I hope this guy doesn't try a Hannibal Lecter," one of the agents beside Bishop said.

"Keep your eye on those doors and your mind on your job, Agent Cale," Bishop told his subordinate.

"Yes, sir," Agent Cale said. Bishop, however, knew that the other people in the corridor with him were thinking along the same lines as Agent Cale. After all, wasn't that why they were there to begin with?

Agent Bishop drew his own gun and waited. Two elevators opened up and the two security squads were joined by their comrades-in-arms. The higher-ranking security troops directed their men to give the last elevator maximum cover.

"We're coming out," Mystique informed Bishop. He nodded towards the others. One of the security officers yelled, "On your toes!" The FBI agents took aim at the closed doors.

The elevator bell chimed and the doors slowly slid open. Mystique and Pyro stepped out. Magneto and Evangeline Whedon followed. A four-man squad of armed DMA troops were on their heels.

"This isn't exactly a good sign, is it, Ms. Whedon?" Magneto said, looking at the armed men surrounding him. Then he laughed.

Against his somewhat humorless nature, Bishop joined in. Pyro smiled wryly. Mystique maintained her poker face.

"It is rather large to be a firing squad, Mr. Lehnsherr," Evangeline observed, causing her client to laugh again.

When the mirth had died down, Bishop spoke to Magneto: "This may appear to be overkill to you, Mr. Lehnsherr, but I think you understand why we've got all this security."

"Of course, Agent Bishop," Magneto said. "And I certainly hope that nothing happens that will require all this security to be activated into an offensive position."

"I hope so too, Mr. Lehnsherr." He gestured in the direction of the courtroom. "This way, please." He walked alongside Magneto and Evangeline. Mystique and Pyro were up front again. The FBI agents flanked them. The security squads boxed them in loosely but in such a way as to be able to close ranks in the presence of an internal or external threat.

Agent Clareburne watched as Magneto was escorted into the courtroom. "Okay, that's one big problem down," she said to no one in particular.

"Uh-huh," Captain Stone said. "For a moment there, I thought he was going to try to break out."

"If he did, he'd be dead," Commander Terell said over the communications network. "I'll shoot him through the heart myself."

"No need for that, sir," Captain Stone told his superior placatingly. "We're on schedule."

"I'm still keeping an eye on him," Commander Terell said before signing off. Agent Clareburne and Captain Stone shifted their attention back to the monitors before them.

"**_Magneto has always been a controversial figure, even among mutants. There are those who believe that his previous policy of enforcing mutant equality through any means necessary—including violence against humans and mutants who disagree with his hard-line stand—is the only viable solution against mutant persecution. But there are others who feel that his militancy borders on outright terrorism. They point to his three most well-known acts against mankind: his attempt to mutate the entire UN General Assembly; his attack on a top-secret government facility in the Alkali Lake area; and, lastly, his opposition to the anti-mutagen developed by Worthington Laboratories that culminated in the destruction of the Worthington Labs complex on Alcatraz._**

"**_Because of this, his trial has polarized the mutant community even further. One faction is demanding his immediate release from the DMA while another has called for his indefinite detention. Several mutants have come forward to give confidential testimony that is expected to be used against Magneto. And while there are those who have chosen to speak in his defense, their numbers may not be enough, at this point, to perhaps sway the trial in his favor."_**

"We're here." Agent Oliver killed the engine and got out of the car. Agent Dwayne covered his partner as he helped Rogue out of the car.

Rogue stretched herself before allowing the two agents to escort her to the parking complex elevators. As expected, there were guards standing close to the elevator doors. The guards asked for credentials. The two agents produced their FBI ID's. Rogue wondered just how well-constructed the cover that David had made for his friends was. The guard scanned their ID's and received verification of authenticity. He returned their ID's and then gestured at them to stand aside while Rogue was frisked by a female DMA security trooper. When she was pronounced as safe, one squad was deployed to accompany them to the courtroom.

"We've got Rogue coming up from Basement Parking Level Three," Agent Clareburne told Bishop.

"Acknowledged," Bishop said. "Are her AIC's with her?"

"Affirmative, sir," was Agent Clareburne's reply. "They're coming up on Elevator Five on the same area where Magneto came out."

"Copy that." Bishop spoke to Agent Cale to cover the courtroom while he went to attend to Rogue. He arrived just as they were getting off the elevator.

"Hello, Agent Bishop," Rogue greeted him.

"Good morning, Rogue," Bishop replied. He looked at the two agents with her. "You had no trouble getting here?"

"Of course not, sir," Agent Oliver said. "No trouble at all."

"Besides, we weren't looking for trouble anyway, Agent Bishop," Agent Dwayne added.

Bishop refrained from making a reply. He knew who Agents Dwayne and Oliver really were. If his superiors had known that he had allowed two mercenaries to impersonate law enforcement personnel, he'd lose his job. So far, though, both Deadpool and Maverick seemed to be carrying out their undercover work, so to speak, rather well. Even the other agents in the building seemed to be unable to tell that they weren't really co-workers.

"All right, then," he finally said. "This way." Bishop dismissed the four-man squad that had come up from the basement with Deadpool and Maverick.

"Man, you'd think there was a war going on or something," Agent Dwayne remarked as they passed the security personnel in the hallway. "National Guard all along the road leading here. And then you've got all these guys carrying heavy artillery."

"There is," Agent Oliver said, "if the events in the city are any indication."

"That war's been going on for years," Rogue added. "Hopefully Magneto's right and this trial will bring it all to an end."

"From your lips to someone's ears," Bishop said to her as they entered the courtroom.

Agent Clareburne kept an eye on the monitor that showed Rogue and her escorts while she was speaking over one of the control-room phones.

Captain Stone caught her attention and pointed to the monitors showing the DMA heliport. Agent Clareburne saw a helicopter descending. The ground crew scrambled towards it as its rotors slowed down.

"Captain," a female security staffer at one of the work stations said, "we've got confirmation that Dr. Shaw has arrived. The detail at the main gate just let him inside."

"Copy that, Ms. Dorfmann," Captain Stone told her. He saw Dr. Shaw's car being driven up to the DMA Legal Office building.

"We've got a visual on Dr. McCoy," another security staffer reported. "He's being brought to the Legal Office by his security detachment now."

Agent Clareburne silently thanked her prodigious memory as she relayed the reports to Bishop. He acknowledged receipt of the information and thanked her for keeping him updated.

"**_The ICCt has taken pains to ensure that man- and mutantkind are both represented in this trial. Four primary representatives with four alternates were selected with the approval of the UN General Assembly. The four main representatives are Secretary for Homeland Security Bolivar Trask, Dr. Sebastian Shaw, former head of the Civilian Research & Development Foundation, Secretary for Mutant Affairs Dr. Robert Windsor, and Dr. Henry McCoy, US Ambassador to the UN. _**

"**_The four alternates are Dr. Valerie Cooper, head of the Office for National Emergency; Maria Hill, acting Executive Director for SHIELD, presidential advisor for defense and security Anthony Stark, and Dr. David Moreau of the Center for Research on Genetic Mutation."_**

"Henry! Well, fancy seeing you here again!" Dr. Shaw called out to the former Mutant Affairs secretary as he was walking towards the elevators.

"Good morning, Dr. Shaw," Dr. McCoy said politely. "I'm a little surprised to be here myself but, considering what's about to happen, I'm glad I'll here to help."

"Well, with all the crimes that he's committed," Dr. Shaw remarked, "Magneto will need all the help he can get. Although I must say that I find it quite strange that you're on his side."

"I'm sorry but I'm not on anyone's side in this matter," Dr. McCoy said. "I'm here as an impartial representative for mutantkind."

Dr. Shaw pressed further: "There now—how can you be impartial when you're representing mutantkind, as you say?"

"Dr. Shaw, were you selected as a representative?" asked Dr. McCoy.

"Yes I was," Dr. Shaw admitted with just a hint of pride in his voice. "For humanity."

"Well, then—I might ask the same question of you," Dr. McCoy told him. "Since you're representing humanity, as you say."

"Because humanity is the one under threat from mutantkind, my dear colleague. Or haven't you been aware of the news about increased mutant violence in this city, among other areas?"

"I am quite aware of the news, Dr. Shaw. And I know that there's also been a rise in human-on-mutant violence in this city and in other places. It's been that way for quite a while now but it's been getting worse."

"Well, can you blame humans for that? They've come to fear mutants for the danger that they pose to society."

"Dr. Shaw, I believe we've had this conversation before. And I do remember telling you that just as there are some people who aren't prejudiced towards mutants, there are mutants who believe in peaceful coexistence with mankind."

Dr. Shaw made a contemptuous sound in his throat. "If there are such mutants, Magneto isn't one of them. Even you have to admit that."

Dr. McCoy granted him that point: "Perhaps. But then, this court will decide his innocence or guilt based on the facts and not our own biases."

"And the facts will bear out Magneto's guilt," Dr. Shaw said scornfully. "Only a fool would consider him to be innocent." He stomped out of the elevator as soon as the doors were open.

"And a much bigger fool makes judgments without first having all the facts," Dr. McCoy said softly as he watched his former colleague leave.

"Dr. Windsor? You're wanted at the Legal Office, sir." Shiro Yoshida stood in the doorway of the Mutant Affairs secretary's office. His boss was at his desk, reading through some papers and signing others. He didn't seem to have heard a thing.

He stepped inside and cleared his throat to get Dr. Windsor's attention. The Mutant Affairs secretary looked up and asked: "What is it, Mr. Yoshida?"

"The trial, sir," Yoshida reminded him. "It's time for you to go to the Legal Office."

"What—? Oh! The trial!" Dr. Windsor stood up and began fixing the papers on his desk. "I almost forgot about it! Thank you for reminding me, Mr. Yoshida." He stuffed them into a brown folder which he locked in a filing cabinet.

"It's my job, sir," Yoshida said.

"Are the other representatives here already?" Dr. Windsor asked as he hurriedly straightened his necktie.

"They're arriving on schedule," Yoshida informed him. "So are their alternates. Judge Chalmers and Judge Alwina are here already."

"I see," Dr. Windsor said. By the time they were on their way to the Legal Office, Remy Lebeau had joined them. They were tailed closely by two DMA security squads. "How are the security arrangements holding up?"

"As well as can be expected," Lebeau said. "The FBI are handling close-in security for the representatives, prosecutors, and the presiding justice. Our own men are backing them up. And the National Guard and Coast Guard are also on alert within our immediate vicinity. We're buttoned down tight, sir. There won't be any problems that we can't handle."

"What about the Sentinels?" Dr. Windsor asked. Bolivar The request to activate Project Wide Awake was approved by President Cockrum a few days after meeting with him and Secretary Trask.

"They're on standby," Yoshida explained. "A concession to your having jurisdiction over this case, sir."

"_Oui,_" Lebeau added, "Otherwise those things would be all over the DMA."

"Well, thank goodness they're not, then," Dr. Windsor said. He stopped in front of a window, trying to see his reflection. "Do I look presentable enough for the court?"

Lebeau adjusted his tie slightly. "There you go, sir. Much better."

"Thank you, Mr. Lebeau." The Mutant Affairs secretary began to fidget with his pen as they walked the heavily guarded corridors. "I have a feeling this will be a long day for all of us."

"Just as long as we reach the end of it in one piece and alive, sir," Yoshida commented, "I don't mind how long it takes."

"I agree with you, Mr. Yoshida," Dr. Windsor said. "In any case, I hope there isn't any trouble today, at the very least."

As far as Secretary Trask was concerned, he already had plenty of trouble on his hands. A mild tension headache was starting to work its way into his brain.

Project Wide Awake was already green-lit by President Cockrum and Homeland Security was already implementing it as his helicopter was flying to the DMA. However, that wasn't what was bothering him at the moment.

His son—the one thing left in this world that brought him any happiness aside from his work—was missing. Apparently, from what the administrators from his school told him, Larry had been steadily failing his subjects over the past few weeks. His professors and guidance counselors all tried discussing the matter with him but he was being strangely uncooperative. And then he just disappeared without a word to his classmates or anyone else.

"Mr. Secretary?" the co-pilot said over the intercom. "We're cleared to land and we'll be touching down in ten minutes, sir."

"All right," Secretary Trask said curtly. His thoughts turned to the man—no, the _mutant_ who would be going on trial today. If he had his way, he would have his Sentinels execute Magneto and them send his remains to the Weapon Plus program to use for research.

_Damn you, you freak,_ he thought. _This is all your fault. When this is all over, I'm going to make sure that your kind will never bother me again._

"**_It was initially rumored that the students of the late Professor Charles Xavier, who have had a long-standing enmity against Magneto, would be deputized by the DMA to provide additional security during the trial. Dr. Windsor had stated in previous interviews that he was not against such an arrangement and that he would appreciate help from individuals or groups with considerable experience in dealing with Magneto._**

"**_This rumor, however, was quickly dispelled by Dr. Windsor himself after his first exploratory discussion with representatives from the Xavier School For The Gifted. 'I was informed by certain persons,' he said, 'that the presence of a mutant group operating without government authorization may compromise national security and, therefore, would not be in the best interests of this department.'"_**

Nightcrawler scanned the DMA complex with the miniature binoculars that he'd brought along. The place was locked down tight. Warren spoke over his headset: "What does it look like from down there, Mr. Wagner?"

"The level of security in this place is very high, Warren," Nightcrawler reported. "They really are taking this trial very seriously. Although, I must say, I can't tell if it's simply to keep anyone from breaking in or to keep Magneto from breaking out."

"Probably both, sir," Warren said. "They've got helicopters on patrol flights and I assume that they have fighter aircraft on standby."

"I agree," Nightcrawler said. Wolverine broke in: "Kurt, Warren, I just got word from Agent Oliver. They've got Rogue inside the building safe and sound. You guys can return to the school now. Let them take it from here"

"All right, Logan," Nightcrawler answered. "We're on our way back now."

"I'll meet you at the rendezvous point in ten minutes, Mr. Wagner," Warren told him.

"_Ja_," Nightcrawler acknowledged his message. "Be careful, Warren." The last thing they wanted was to cause a security breach. Given that he was involved in a plot to assassinate the president not that long ago, Nightcrawler doubted very much if his affiliation with Professor Xavier's school would help him much if he were arrested and detained. He didn't think that Mystique would speak up for him and he didn't want to get Magneto in any further trouble by making it appear as if an escape attempt was in the offing.

"Where are Kurt and Warren, Logan?" Wolverine heard Storm ask through his headset as he watched the monitor in front of him. Tom Corsi sat in front of the work station's main console, making sure that he had a good fix on their teammates' location. Zee sat beside him, scanning audiovisual network traffic emanating from the city. The designs for the new equipment installed in the school were mostly acquired by David and modified mainly by Zee, with some assistance from Tom, David, Rogue, and, ironically enough, Kitty.

"They're on their way back," he told her. "Rogue's inside the DMA already and her two agents are sticking close to her."

"All right. Come up to the mansion. We've got guests arriving." With that, Storm signed off.

Wolverine took off the headset and handed it to Tom. "Stay in touch with them and make sure there's no trouble."

"Got it, Logan." Tom donned the headset. Wolverine headed for the elevator that would take him out of the secondary command center beside the underground hangar where the Blackbird was housed. Storm was waiting for him at the lobby.

"Who's coming this time?" Wolverine asked.

"An old friend of ours," Storm told him. As they were walking out the door, Theresa Cassidy came running up to them.

"Storm, is it true—" she started to say but Storm cut her off with a nod and a smile. Theresa quickly fell in step behind them with barely controlled joy. They went out the mansion's main doors and saw an unmarked car with heavily tinted windows driving towards them. Once the car was stopped, someone got out of the front passenger's side. A tall, brown-haired man wearing dark glasses smiled at Storm and greeted her warmly: "Hi, Ororo. How are you all doing?"

"Fine under the circumstances," Storm said, giving the man a hug. The man then turned to Wolverine: "Hello, Mr. Logan, sir." He extended a hand.

Wolverine shook it. "Glad to see you again, Alex." He looked over at Theresa and cocked a thumb at the man. "This is Scott Summers' younger brother, Alex. Alex, meet Theresa Cassidy."

"Hello, Ms. Cassidy," Alex said. Behind him, the driver of the car—a woman with long hair and somewhat Asian features—opened the rear passenger's door. When a red-haired man came out, Theresa couldn't help herself.

"Dad! Dad!" she squealed loud enough to make Wolverine, Alex, and Storm to wince. She ran up to the red-haired man and he took her into her arms, carrying her and hugging her tightly. Theresa kissed him on the cheek and buried her face in his shoulder as she wept with happiness.

"Well, Tess, you're growing, aren't you, my little sweetheart?" Sean Cassidy told her. "Your sonic scream is getting stronger too." He let her down gently. "Pardon my girl for hurting your ears, my friends," he told Storm and Wolverine.

"You get used to it after a while," Wolverine said. "Good to see you again, Irish."

"Likewise, Logan," Sean said. "I hope we can catch up on the old times later."

"I got the beer for it, Irish," Wolverine assured him.

"Who else is with you?" Storm asked.

Sean looked over at the long-haired woman. "Let our esteemed guest out of the car, Agent Braddock."

Elizabeth Braddock opened the door. Storm immediately recognized who it was. "Moira! What are you doing here?" she asked.

Dr. Moira MacTaggart thanked Agent Braddock for her assistance and then walked up to Storm, who gave her a welcoming embrace.

"Well, Ororo," she said, "I thought the Professor would've wanted me to be here to help you out."

"We're grateful for whatever help you can provide us, Moira," Storm said. "Come inside—we've got a lot to talk about."


	14. Chapter 14

"**_Thank you, Irene. We now switch to our correspondent, Hector Gomez, who is in New York City. Hector?"_**

"**_Thank you, Rochelle. Ladies and gentlemen, I'm speaking to you from the demonstration being led today by the Reverend Jerry Gordon. Rev. Gordon, who has repeatedly called mutants as 'abominations of God's creation', has said that today's gathering is a 'meeting of the faithful' and not a venue for expressing 'anti-Christian sentiment'. Despite that, however, as you can see, there are several banners being displayed here that read 'Magneto Is Guilty', 'Punish The Mutant', and other statements that condemn both Magneto and mutantkind in general."_**

"_Mein Gott,"_ Nightcrawler said to himself as he watched the people down below him. He was on the roof of a building directly across the street from Rev. Gordon's "meeting of the faithful". Warren had asked permission to check on what was happening at Worthington Industries. After arranging a pickup point upon his return, Warren left Nightcrawler to occupy himself moving from rooftop to rooftop, viewing what was taking place in the streets below.

Rev. Gordon was standing in front of his followers, apparently delivering a sermon on mutantkind. "Ladies and gentlemen, God is looking upon our country and the world today!" he began. "Today. God has given us the opportunity to bring righteous justice upon the wicked!"

The reverend strode out to the front ranks of his audience. He held up a Bible. "For it is said by God the there will be a time of reckoning for those who do evil! They will be cast our of heaven and sent to the lake of fire to burn for all eternity! Magneto has taken power that does not rightfully belong to anyone but God and used it for his own ends! His stiff-necked pride has made him believe that he _is_ God!

"But the one true God, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, the God who brought the plagues upon Pharaoh for his pride, who laid Sodom and Gomorrah to waste for their impiousness, who smote the enemies of his people, has struck down Magneto and those like him who would appoint themselves as the new stewards—no, not stewards but _masters_ of humanity! The Lord has handed Magneto over to us so that justice might be done and the will of the Lord be carried out!

"And when Magneto reaps what he has sown with bloody hands and cold, black heart, then we shall see that the Lord is our God, that He is a mighty God who will never tolerate those whom He was marked as unclean to hold sway over His people!"

The reverend held his hands high above his head, as if sending out a supplication to the heavens. "Praise the God of Justice and Might! Praise the Lord who destroys the evildoers, the unclean, and those begotten by Hell!" he roared.

The people responded with rapturous shouts of "Amen!" interspersed with chants of "Guilty!" and "Punish the mutant!"

Nightcrawler's stomach turned sour at the sight of the demonstration below. When he parted ways with the X-Men after helping shut down Col. Stryker's Alkali Lake headquarters, he sought refuge in a monastery. It was there that he began to learn about his relationship with God and how mutants fit into the tapestry of Divine Will. Slowly but steadily, he began to form a strong belief that mutantkind was just as much a creation of God as humankind was. As a result, he returned to Professor Xavier's school after his time in the monastery in order to put his belief into concrete action.

His belief was challenged time and again whenever he and the X-Men had to confront both mutant and human threats. But it was when he came face-to-face with his estranged daughter Talia for the first time that his belief faced its severest test.

At first, Talia's normal human appearance gave him hope that she hadn't inherited his mutation; unfortunately, it turned out that she merely had the added ability to conceal her true appearance which was similar to Nightcrawler's right down to the tail, pointed ears, and blue skin. At first, Nightcrawler's belief was shaken when he made that discovery and he nearly abandoned his faith—and his daughter. Talia, however, showed that not only had she accepted her mutation but had also learned how to use it in accordance with Professor Xavier's teachings—as well as her father's own belief that mutants had the freedom to choose between good or evil, just like any of God's creatures. It was Talia's own resolute faith that she could be a force for good that eventually led to Nightcrawler coming into his own as her father and as a member of the X-Men.

Now, as Rev. Gordon ranted below him, he knew that his belief, strong though it was, had a long way to go before it would be shared by the rest of the world. The reverend was still talking about deviants, freaks of nature, and other creatures who were not made by the hand of God when Nightcrawler decided to interject himself. He crawled down the building and then leapt onto a nearby lamp post, giving him a good view of the crowd and, hopefully, keeping him out of harm's way should things get ugly. He hoped that, with the presence of the media and the police at the demonstration, no one would attempt anything rash. He didn't want to have to respond in kind.

Nightcrawler called out to the reverend: "Pardon me, for interrupting, Reverend, but may I have a word or two with you?"

"Evil!" "Satan spawn!" and "Mutant!" were some of the catcalls that greeted him in reply. Nightcrawler, however, was already used to insults and said nothing by way of retort.

"Here we have one of the fallen!" Rev. Gordon declared, gesturing with his Bible towards Nightcrawler. "Here we have one of the Devil's own! Does he not come in the form of his infernal master and creator?"

More jeers came Nightcrawler's way but he maintained his composure. He spoke clearly and loudly enough for the reverend to hear him: "How can a man who claims to be a servant of God spread such hatred for His creatures?"

"His creatures?" Rev. Gordon was actually dumbstruck for several moments. His followers waited with bated breath for his response to his questioner.

"His creatures?" the reverend repeated. "_His creatures?"_ Rev. Gordon drew in a breath before continuing in a thunderous voice: "_Mutants are not God's creatures! Mutants are inhuman abominations that have been set on Earth by the Devil to wage war against humanity!" _He paused for effect. "Look at yourself—do you think that God would create something as hideous as you?"

Nightcrawler answered: "You needn't remind me of my appearance, Reverend. I'm well aware that I look nothing like what you would regard as a normal human. And yet, in Scripture, does not the Lord warn us of being led astray by outward appearances? If I'm not mistaken, I believe He called the Pharisees 'whited sepulchers', pure on the outside but filled with rot and corruption."

"You speak of Holy Scripture?" Rev. Gordon asked. He turned to his followers. "We shouldn't be so surprised, should we? For does not that same Scripture also say that Satan can quote the Lord's own words to suit his twisted purposes?"

"Yes, it does, doesn't it, Reverend?" Nightcrawler agreed amiably enough. But the look he gave Rev. Gordon was no less pointed for being subtle. The reverend didn't catch on right away but when he did, he was furious.

"How dare you imply that I serve the Anti-Christ, you demon?" he challenged Nightcrawler. "Brothers and sisters, let him not mislead you! For does not his own form give him away? While I occupy a human body, the temple of the Holy Spirit, he is made of the clay of Hell and shaped by the hands if Satan!"

"And what about me, Reverend?" Nightcrawler looked up and saw Warren hovering in the air close by. "Do I look as if I had been created by the devil as well? Do I also have an appearance that would lead you to conclude that I am a monster? An inhuman creature?"

Nightcrawler watched the young mutant. His voice was calm and even but the look on his face was inscrutable—a combination that easily led Nightcrawler to conclude that Warren was holding a great many emotions in check. If he remembered correctly, Warren's own father had wanted to cure him of his mutation. That was how the anti-mutagen came into being; Worthington the Elder wanted to remove the stigma of mutanthood from his son. An admirable goal, to be sure, Nightcrawler admitted, but one that ultimately made things worse for humans an mutants. And as for Warren, well, he had chosen to keep his wings and did not allow his father to administer the cure to him. Instead, Warren had come to the school to learn how to put his mutation to use to build a bridge between humanity and mutants. Fortunately, his father had slowly come around to seeing his son's way of thinking—but only up to a certain point. Worthington Laboratories still manufactured the anti-mutagen as a weapon against mutants deemed as threats. Nightcrawler wondered how long before the cure became worse than the disease once again.

Rev. Gordon stared at Warren, who wore his black uniform and whose wings moved with the easy grace of any creature of the air. Finally he screamed: "_You're a blasphemy! _You've been given the form of God's servants and yet you choose to consort with these abominations!"

"If there's one thing I've learned in my lifetime, Reverend," Nightcrawler said, "it's that God would never condone the ignorance and the bigotry that you wish to feed with your words."

"What do you know about God?" the reverend demanded. I've dedicated my life to serving Him—"

"I know, Reverend," Nightcrawler told him in a voice filled with regret. "And therein lies the tragedy." He spoke to Warren: "Let's get out of here, my friend. There's nothing more we can do here—at least for now."

"Yes, sir, Mr. Wagner," Warren said. Nightcrawler teleported himself to the roof of the building. Warren followed him, wings carrying him upward easily.

"Damn, I was sort of hoping that wouldn't happen," Wolverine said. He stood in the headmaster's office with Storm, Sean Cassidy, Elizabeth Braddock, Alex Summers, and Dr. MacTaggart. Theresa had reluctantly left her dad's side but cheered up when he told her that he would meet her at the dining hall when he, Dr. MacTaggart, and the older mutants were done with their meeting.

"Well, what do you expect, Mr. Logan?" Alex said. "The city's probably crawling with TV news crews because of the trial. I don't think Mr. Wagner and Worthington deliberately decided to debate that crazy preacher on air."

"Yeah, well, I guess Kurt and Warren did okay," Wolverine grudgingly admitted. "At least he and Warren got out of there before anything crazy could happen."

"You think some of these demonstrations might turn ugly, Logan?" Sean asked.

"I don't think so, Irish," Wolverine replied. "I _know_ so. It's only a matter of time before—" A news bulletin on the television interrupted Wolverine before he could finish his statement.

"_**Ladies and gentlemen, we interrupt Hector Gomez's report to bring you a news flash from another part of New York City. We turn you over to Daniel Bell. Daniel, are you there?"**_

"_**Yes, Rochelle. Right now, we are in an area of New York City that has been referred to by those living around it as M-Town or Mutant Town. The majority of its residents, as its name obviously suggests, are mutants, with a small number of humans living there. These humans are apparently either related to M-Town's mutants or are simply on good terms with them, thus making them sympathetic to their non-human neighbors' struggle to survive.**_

"_**About half an hour ago, that struggle just became more dangerous with the arrival of several anti-mutant gangs who are intent on driving out the mutants of M-Town and claiming it as their own territory."**_

Lady Yuriko Oyama watched as the anti-mutant mobs swarmed into the streets of M-Town. Beside her, Dr. Innocenta stood quietly, viewing the monitors in front of them. They were inside a vacant building on the edge of the mutant ghetto. The room where they were watching the proceedings outside was outfitted as a n operational command center.

"This should be good," the man at the console said. He typed in a command and some of the monitors displayed another group of men standing in an alley. "Looks like Macon's team is ready, ma'am," he remarked. "So are Reese, Miong, and Domingo."

"Excellent," Dr. Innocenta said. "Keep your eyes open, Mr. Nelson."

Nelson nodded. "We'll keep you posted if any unexpected guests show up."

Dr. Innocenta turned towards the Lady Oyama. "I believe it's time for us to begin."

Yuriko nodded. She fell in behind the cyberneticist and left the command center.

Toad fell into bed, dog-tired, after another night patrolling M-Town for trouble. He woke up to find that trouble had erupted almost at his front door. Instead of sunlight hitting his eyes, gunshots assaulted his ears. He immediately leapt out of bed and went to the nearest vantage point to find out what was going on. When he saw what the trouble was, he had a feeling like deja vu—the mob out on the streets reminded him of the night when he met Lorelei—

His heart began to beat faster. _Lori!_ he thought. _What's happened to her? _He left his roost, quickly and unobtrusively making his way towards the building where she and her friends lived. He prayed he wouldn't be too late.

The goggle-eyed man and his companions ran as fast as they could. Behind them, a gang of anti-mutant bigots carrying weapons tailed them closely.

"This way!" Goggle Eyes told his fellow mutants.

One of them—a young woman whose skin color was like that of a giraffe asked him, "Are you sure?" She was carrying a little girl with big ears. Behind her was a long-haired teenager.

"I think so!" Goggle Eyes answered her. When they went in the direction he'd picked, however, they found themselves in a blind alley.

"Oh, damn," the teenager said. "I think we'd better go back." Just as they turned on their heels, however, they saw a car pull up and block the alley. Another group of men stepped out. They were also armed—pipes, baseball bats, and a couple of shotguns.

"Well, well—look what we've got here, boys," one of the gunmen said. He raised his weapon.

"No!" Giraffe Girl cried out, trying to cover the little girl as best as she could. The gunman fired but Goggle Eyes stepped into the line of fire, taking the shot that was meant for Giraffe Girl.

"Jorge!" Giraffe Girl cried out in horror.

The thugs stepped closer. The long-haired teenager grabbed her by the shoulder and pulled her to her feet. He pointed to a nearby fire escape. "Go!" he told Giraffe Girl.

"Terry, what are you going to do?" she asked.

"Just go!" Terry screamed. The thugs were all smiling ferally They were eagerly anticipating the end of a successful first hunt.

Giraffe Girl tried to reach for the ladder but couldn't. She set the little girl down on the ground. "Lacey, Lacey—you have to get up there now."

Lacey stared at the thugs and then at Giraffe Girl. "Georgina, I'm scared, I want to go home..." she said, tears flowing from her eyes.

"We are going home, Lacey," Giraffe Girl said. "But to do that, you have to get up there. Can you do that? Please? For me?"

"I'm not leaving you, Georgina," Lacey said.

"I'll be right behind you, Lacey." Another command to leave came from Terry. Giraffe Girl hugged Lacey tightly. She was beginning to cry too as she removed Lacey's sweater and tied it around the little girl's waist. "Now, go on—fly! Fly, Lacey!"

Lacey looked at her doubtfully but stepped back. Her wings unfolded from her back and she began to flap them, slowly at first but gaining speed. Soon enough, she was leaving the ground.

The thugs saw her. "Get that mutie!" A shotgun took aim.

"No!" Terry ran towards them and—to the thug's surprise—disappeared. While he was invisible to their eyes, he leapt for the one with the shotgun and knocked him flat on his back. The other thugs wondered what happened.

"He's invisible! But he's here somewhere!" the other shotgun man said. He stared firing at random, hoping he'd hit Terry. Unfortunately for the young mutant, the man's luck held. With a cry of pain, he rematerialized slightly behind them, hands pressed to a wound in his side.

"Got him!" the second shotgun man whooped. The other gunman got up, weapon ready. One of the bat-bearing thugs gave Terry a kick. The young mutant cried out.

Giraffe Girl watched as they surrounded her friend. She knew this would be her last chance to escape. Up above her, safe from harm (or so she hoped) was Lacey, who was calling down to her. She looked at the little girl and smiled at her.

"Goodbye, Lacey," she whispered as she walked towards the thugs beating on Terry. "Hey! You stop that!" she told them. She jumped the closest one but he easily threw her down onto the concrete on top of Terry.

"You like your friend so much, mutie?" one of them said. "Join him in hell, then." Another shotgun blast rang out. Lacey screamed from her perch.

"Hey! Let's get the last one, boys!" a pipe-wielding thug said, pointing at Lacey.

"You got it, Gerry!" one of his companions said. "Got any more ammo, Baxter?"

Baxter—the second shotgun man—said: "I got enough ammo to wipe out every mutant on Earth!" He handed some spare shells to the other shotgun man. "That enough, Bobby?"

Bobby nodded. "Let's get that mutie." He pumped a round home.

Lacey saw them coming and ran up the fire escape. She peered into the first open window she spotted—and was yanked inside. She tried to fight her way free but a voice whispered softly: "Quiet down, kid. Those guys will find us quicker than I want them to if you keep making noise."

Gerry, Baxter, Bobby and the rest of their gang came into building through the same window Lacey had used. They found themselves in an empty hallway lined with three doors on either side. Bobby told his friends to take one door each. They muscled the doors open.

"Nothing in here!" Baxter declared. Gerry said the same thing. Bobby came out of the room he'd picked.

"They must have gone upstairs while we were trying to get that damn fire escape to work," Bobby said. "So let's split up. Three upstairs and three downstairs." His friends muttered agreement. Just as they were about to carry out their plan, they noticed a man wearing a trench coat, jeans, a black vest, and combat boots standing at the end of the hallway.

"Hey, man—seen any muties here?" Gerry asked.

"Muties?" the man asked.

"Muties—mutants," Bobby explained. "You know, those freaks of nature who want Magneto to become president or pope. You seen any?"

"The only freaks of nature I see are right in front of me," the man answered.

"What the hell did you just say?" Baxter demanded. He hefted his shotgun menacingly. "You just better take that back, mister. So help me, if you're a mutie lover, you'll be sorry."

"If you don't leave now, _you'll_ be sorry," the man replied. "Get out the way you came and I'll forget you were here."

"Yeah? You asked for it," Bobby said. He fired his shotgun. Baxter followed his lead. They pumped round after round at the man.

The man was still standing. He began to walk towards them. Gerry ran towards him. Once he was within striking distance, he swung the bat, intending to smash the man's skull. What happened instead was that his bat hit nothing but empty air. Then the bat left his hands and the business end of it smashed into his knees, sending him to the floor. He howled in pain.

"What the—?" was all Bobby could manage to say before his shotgun was turned on him and Baxter. The other three thugs fled.

Lacey heard footsteps coming her way. She held her breath as the closet door was opened.

"Come on, Lacey," David Caine told her, smiling. "They're gone." He held out his arms to her. She ran to him and he picked her up.

"I was scared," she told him. "I thought they were coming back for me."

"I told them to leave," David said. They stepped out of the room where he told her to hide while he dealt with the thugs chasing her. "And they left."

"Am I going home now?" Lacey asked, leaning her head against his chest.

"I guess so," David replied. "At the very least, I'll take you somewhere safe." He put his headset on and spoke into his mike. "Talk to me, Stun Gun."

"We're on our way to the rendezvous point, Danger Zone," Stun Gun replied. "And we've got some refugees with us."

"All right. See you at the rendezvous point," David said. "Be careful—all of you."

"Copy that," Stun Gun said.

"Come on," David told Lacey. "Let's get you away from here."

"We're clear," Phase told his teammates as he passed through one of the walls of the tunnel they were navigating.

"Okay." Stun Gun turned towards the mutants huddled behind him. "Let's move," he told them, waving them forward. His other teammate, Flash Bang, followed the mutants from behind, making sure that all of them stuck together.

"We'll be passing Morlock territory pretty soon," their teammate, Fox, who was serving as forward scout, reported over their headsets. "I hope they let us through."

"Either that or take these refugees in," Flash Bang said.

"Don't worry," David broke in, "you're getting close to sanctuary. Is Eden still online?"

"I'm here, Danger Zone," Eden Kane said. "How's the team?"

"Given the circumstances, we're all okay," Stun Gun said. He was the acknowledged leader of the quartet of young mutates that David worked with on a semi-regular basis whenever he was helping the Mutant Underground. "We're making slow but steady progress down here."

"All right," Eden said. "I'm monitoring the news broadcasts. Magneto's trial is officially underway. But that's not keeping a lid on all the trouble going on in the city."

"Some idiots just don't know when to leave well enough alone," David remarked. "Although if this is well enough, I'd hate to see what it would look like if things turned bad."

"You may just get your wish, Danger Zone," Fox interjected.

David immediately picked up on Fox's on-alert tone of voice. "What is it, Fox?"

"I just spotted some Morlocks in a tunnel about fourteen meters from where Stun Gun and Flash Bang are," Fox said. She knelt over the torn and blasted remains scattered along the tunnel. "They're dead and it sure wasn't natural causes."

"Fox, turn on your visual," Eden told her, "and let me see what you've found." Fox did as she was told and Eden saw the bodies from Fox's perspective. It was a bit closer than she would've liked. "Looks like they were in a fight...edged weapons and automatic fire are my guesses as to what killed them."

Fox's view moved; she was looking down the tunnel now. "What is it?" Eden asked.

"You're right, doc," Fox replied. "I just heard gunfire."

"Fox—stay put," David said. "Don't go down that tunnel until you hear from me again."

"Copy that, Danger Zone," Fox said. "But you better hurry. I think things are about to go from bad to worse."

Nightcrawler and Warren were making good time back to the school when their headsets came to life: "Commander Logan, this is Danger Zone—do you copy?"

They heard Wolverine's voice acknowledge David's call: "I copy, Danger Zone. What is it?"

"Are you en route to M-Town, Commander?"

"Yeah, we just saw the news so Storm and I figured we might do some good. Where are you?"

"In the city—where else? Commander, I just received word that there may be fighting going on under the city too."

"What? In the Morlocks' territory?" Wolverine's surprise was plain to hear.

"Yes, sir," David replied. "The bad news is that I have a team taking some refugees to safety but they might get caught in the fighting. Do you have anyone you can spare to assist them until I get there?"

Nightcrawler responded immediately: "I'll do it, _Herr_ Logan. Warren and I are nearby."

"Kurt?" Wolverine paused and thought it over. "All right but be careful. And keep your headset on so we know what's happening."

"_Ja,_ Logan," Nightcrawler said. "We're on our way, _Herr_ Caine."

"_Danke, Herr _Wagner," David said. "I'll give you the coordinates for my team's position."


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter Five**

Evangeline scribbled something on a legal pad as the chief prosecutor, Gerald Fortune, rose to make his opening remarks. Judge Chalmers had ordered both counselors to make their statements brief; given Fortune's reputation as an orator who spoke in folk melodrama, the presiding judge's ruling was welcome to Evangeline. She had to admit, she was nervous. Gerald Fortune had made a career out of winning some of the most difficult cases in legal history. He'd defended dictators and corporations and had a way to make even the most reprehensible individual come out as if they were Jesus being persecuted by the Sanhedrin. On the other hand, he was also a vicious, if subtle, prosecutor. He could stick the knife into his opponent in so many ways that they couldn't predict until the judge handed in a verdict favoring Fortune's client.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm well aware that this trial is being seen as a battle in the war between mutants and humans," Fortune began. "But that is not the way I see it. This is more of a battle between order and chaos."

The chief prosecutor looked at the people in the gallery. His gaze swept across the members of the media who were covering the trial, along with several observers from different organizations and nations.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have always believed that we live in a civilized world, a world governed by laws that each one of us—human or mutant—is supposed to follow. We do this so that the order of this world may be upheld. Without that order, there is chaos. And with chaos comes the destruction of this world and all we hold dear."

Fortune gestured towards Magneto with an open hand. "The defendant in this trial today has been brought here for crimes committed not only against mankind but against mutants as well. Where others worked for peace between mutants and humanity"— the chief prosecutor looked steadily at Dr. McCoy—"he worked to bring about the war between mutants and humans that claims casualties on both sides daily. He has worked to undermine the laws that make up the foundation of order that support our world and our society. And for that, ladies and gentlemen, he must face justice."

With that, Fortune sat down. Evangeline stood up; as she was doing so, she saw Magneto looking at her evenly and without fear. She nodded slightly.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Evangeline said, "let me begin by stating that I agree wholeheartedly with the point that the chief prosectutor made in his opening remarks. This case is about law. It is about order. It is about justice."

She looked at Magneto's family, sitting in the gallery. Wanda Maximoff, Lorna Dane, and Magneto's granddaughter, Luna, watched her intently. They knew what was at stake.

Evangeline continued: "The law states that no one may be discriminated against, no matter what their race. And yet daily, mutants everywhere face a long-standing prejudice from law-abiding citizens.

"The order which is based upon that law is supposed to embrace all people. And yet this same order excludes mutants simply because they are different from 'normal' human beings.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I'm sure you've heard this before. Justice is represented as being blindfolded because all men—_all people _are equal in its eyes. But that equality is threatened by the long chain of bigotry that mutants must face.

"Mr. Fortune is correct once again when he says that this trial is a battle between chaos and order—between the chaos of mutant persecution and the order of mutant equality."

"Well said," Magneto whispered as Evangeline sat down. "Though I can tell you were a little scared at the start."

"I'm still a little scared, Mr. Lehnsherr," Evangeline admitted, "but I think I can do this."

"Call the first witness, please," Judge Chalmers told the bailiff.

Admiral Gregor Suvurov sat at his desk, waiting for the communications technicians to finish setting up the remote link to the trial at the DMA.

"Sorry for the delay, admiral," one of them said as he patched two cables together and handed them to his fellow soldier, who connected them to a digital connection module.

"No need to apologize, seaman," the naval officer said. "Let the Americans wait a bit."

"Admiral, may I ask you a question?" the other sailor spoke up.

"What is it?" Admiral Suvurov replied.

"Are you nervous about...testifying against Magneto?" the seaman wanted to know. "Considering what he's like, sir, if I were in your shoes, I would not be so bold."

The naval officer thought about the sailor's question. Fear wasn't something that the men and women who served under him would ascribe to him. His contemporaries—especially those who had seen action alongside him—were all in agreement that Gregor Suvurov was one of the breavest men in the Russian navy. There was a joke among the other officers that if he had been captain of the _Flying Dutchman_, it would have made it to port even with the wind against it or, they said, even if Death and the devil themselves were attempting to steer that legendary ship off-course under Suvurov's watch.

"You were there when Magneto came to our base, weren't you, seaman?" Suvurov asked. The sailor nodded.

"I was there too," the admiral said. "And I saw what he is capable of quite plainly." The events of the recent past were still very much evident throughout the naval base where Suvurov was assigned—throughout Russia, to be more precise.

"The connection is ready, Admiral," the other technician said, aiming the video camera at his superior. Half a world away, in the courtroom, his face appeared on the large screen that had been installed for showing witness testimonies that were either prerecorded or conducted outside the DMA.

"The prosecution calls Admiral Gregor Suvurov as its first witness, your honor," Gerald Fortune was saying. He turned towards the screen with a smile on his face that made the naval officer think of the men he sometimes had to deal with in the Duma or even the high command. "Good afternoon, Admiral. Thank you for joining us today."

"Good morning, Mr. Fortune," the admiral said.

"Admiral," Fortune began, "do you recognize that man sitting over there?" He pointed towards Magneto who was watching the screen with a thoughtful expression on his face.

"Yes, Mr. Fortune," Admiral Suvurov replied. "That man is Magneto, if I'm not mistaken."

"You're not, sir," the chief prosecutor assured the naval officer. "Would you care to tell the court how you first encountered Magneto?"

"Not at all." Admiral Suvurov leaned back slightly in his chair as he recounted the events that brought so much devastation to his motherland.

A year ago, the naval officer said, a group calling themselves the Brotherhood Of Mutants laid siege to the country, claiming to be fighting against the persecution of mutants in Magneto's name. They engaged in a campaign of guerrilla warfare that had the police and the military stretched dangerously thin in an attempt to halt their hit-and-run attacks.

Fortune interrupted the admiral's narration: "You're certain they sad that they were fighting in Magneto's name, Admiral?"

Admiral Suvurov nodded. "Yes, they admitted as much to the newspapers whenever they claimed credit for an attack that they carried out against the authorities."

"All right," Fortune said with a meaningful look towards Evangeline Whedon and her client. "Go on, please."

It turned out that these acts of terror were meant to distract the authorities' attention while Fabian Cortez, the Brotherhood's new leader, staged an assault on a top-secret research facility that was producing weaponry that could be used against mutants. These weapons were being developed by the military and the KGB in order to prevent the possibility of a large-scale mutant uprising similar to the one that took place in San Francisco.

"The one led by the defendant?" Fortune asked.

"Yes," the naval officer said. "Our government was worried that such an incident might well be a threat to national security."

"Would you agree with that, Admiral?"

"I did not, Mr. Fortune—until I saw the damage that this Brotherhood could cause."

"Yes...please continue, sir."

At first, the military high command and the KGB Collegium believed that Cortez' assault on the research facility would be suicidal. What they didn't know was that he had an unlikely ally: Arkady Rossovich, leader of the Red Shadow, Eastern Europe's most feared criminal syndicate. The KGB knew him by another name: Omega Red, formerly the old Soviet Union's deadliest secret weapon.

"So what you're saying, Admiral," Fortune wanted to know, "is that the mutants serving under Magneto's name allied themselves with common criminals?"

"These criminals could hardly be considered as common, Mr. Fortune," Admiral Suvurov said. "Especially Rossovich—he is a mutant himself."

"So your country was threatened not only by Magneto's army but by a criminal syndicate that was working for him as well?"

"It seemed that way."

The Army and KGB Protection Service troops assigned to guard the research facility were unprepared for the assault that broke upon them. The Brotherhood and the Red Shadow were not intimidated in the least by the defenders. With Cortez directing and Rossovich leading their attack, the mutants slowly began to overwhelm the soldiers fighting against them.

Admiral Suvurov was among those ordered to beef up the research facility's defenses. He sent in the closest Naval Infantry regiments to try and box in the mutants so as to give the Army and Protection Service troops time to regroup. It worked—until the mutants' own reinforcements arrived. Admiral Suvurov and his counterparts in the Air Force were soon mulling over the possibility of both aerial and naval bombardment. The Security Council of Russia, however, had another idea: there would be a bombardment but nuclear weaponry would be used instead of conventional missiles.

Fortune asked: "Why nuclear weaponry, Admiral?"

Admiral Suvurov's reply was succinct: "The Council felt that there was no other option that would work against the mutants."

"Was this option carried out?"

"It was...unsuccessfully," the naval officer admitted.

"Why unsuccessfully, Admiral?" Fortune inquired politely.

"Because the missiles were stopped before they reached their target," Admiral Suvurov explained. "By Magneto."

"And did he give any reason for his actions?" was Fortune's next question.

"Yes, he did," the naval officer replied. "He was able to infiltrate our radio network—using his powers, I suppose—and declared that the mutant army attacking the research facility was a disgrace. Then he dealt with them quite harshly."

"Dealt with them in what manner, Admiral?"

"From what we saw afterwards on our surveillance records, he apparently killed those mutants who did not stand down from their attack—including their two leaders."

Fortune strode towards the representatives and eyed the gallery squarely. "So you mean to tell us, Admiral, that Magneto took it upon himself to punish these mutants that he considered a 'disgrace'? He murdered his own kind?"

"I gather he felt that it was his right to administer such a form of justice." Admiral Suvurov commented.

"And he violated the sovereign right of your country to bring these mutants to trial so that they might answer for their crimes?"

"It would seem that way."

"Do you see the untrammeled arrogance and pride of the defendant, ladies and gentlemen?" Fortune addressed the representatives, although the tone of his voice made it clear that he was also addressing the entire courtroom—not to mention the world. "To violate a nation's laws as if he was himself above any law?"

"Objection, your honor," Evangeline Whedon said, standing up. "I think opposing counsel has made his point clear enough. There's no need to pontificate."

"Sustained," Judge Chalmers said. "Do you have any other questions for the witness, counselor?"

"No further questions, your honor," Fortune said, sitting down at this table.

"Are you sure about your plan, Mr. Wagner?" Warren helped Nightcrawler open up a manhole cover. He looked down and saw the ladder leading below but not much else.

"Quite certain, Warren," Nightcrawler replied. "Your wings would do you no good down there. Wait for _Herr _Logan and the others to arrive. I shall try to locate _Herr_ Caine's friends and see if I can't help them."

"Be careful, sir," Warren said. "And stay on the line so we know what's going on."

"Of course. Close this once I'm far enough down the ladder, all right?" Nightcrawler began to climb down head-first. His eyes slowly adjusted as he entered the shadowy part of the access tunnel leading to the sewers. After a few moments, he spoke into his communicator, telling Warren to seal the manhole. The light that struggled to penetrate the darkness he was entering began to die away. Finally, it was almost completely black. Nightcrawler touched the bottom of the ladder. He hopped onto his feet, listening to the sounds of the tunnels around him. After a few moments, he began to make his way westward.

In another part of the tunnels, Dr. Innocenta eyed the young man in rags that she held at arm's length. Her steel fingers had almost completely dug themselves into his throat. With her scientist's eye, she considered his physique clinically.

"My apologies," she told the unconscious young man. "I have no use for you." One of her arms moved forward and neatly disemboweled her victim with the short sword she carried. Dr. Innocenta tossed the body aside without so much as a second look. "Carson, how goes it with your squad?" she spoke into her comm unit.

"We're enjoying ourselves, boss," came the reply. "Nothing too hard to handle here."

"Excellent," Dr. Innocenta said. "Reese, Macon, Collins—what about your squads?"

"No problems with my squad, doc!" was Reese's gleeful answer, accompanied by the sounds of gunfire.

"All clear here," Collins added.

"We've harvested three potentially useful bodies, ma'am," Macon informed her. "We'll be bringing them with us to the rendezvous point."

"Well done." Dr. Innocenta sensed someone approaching her from behind. She turned to see the Lady Oyama approaching her.

"Enjoying your exercise, Lady Oyama?" Dr. Innocenta asked with a smile.

"It's pleasant enough," Lady Oyama said. "But there's something you should know."

"What might that be, milady?"

Lady Oyama unsheathed her claws. "He's coming."

"Is that so?" Dr. Innocenta spoke into her comm unit once again: "All squads, be ready. We're going to have company soon. Reese, Macon, Collins—proceed to the rendezvous point and wait for us there. Hamner, Tolland, McVickers—set up a defensive screen for us." Just as her troops acknowledged her command, another voice broke into the comm channel: "Doctor, this is Faber. We've picked up a fast-moving aircraft nearing our vicinity. It looks like Professor Xavier's students are coming."

"Thank you, Faber. Keep us informed but begin exfiltration." Dr. Innocenta sheathed her swords. "Come, Lady Oyama—I think you're about to get the confrontation that you've been hoping for since you rejoined the living."

"We're nearing the location of Danger Zone's squad, Logan," Zee remarked as she gently banked the Blackbird downwards, giving them a good look at M-Town's rooftops.

"Looks peaceful from up here," Sean Cassidy was saying until he saw a column of smoke rising up from a building to the northeast. "All right, I may have spoken too soon."

Wolverine came up to the flight deck from the cabin. "What is it, Irish?"

Sean pointed towards the smoke. "There's fighting above ground, it seems, lad."

"Great. Just great." Wolverine thumbed the intercom. "Listen up—we're ten minutes away from the drop zone. Get ready."

In the cabin, Bobby, Kitty, Sam, Hisako, Roberto, Theresa Cassidy, and Laura stirred slightly in their seats. Kitty felt a knot of fear tense up inside her gut. This was going to be like Alcatraz all over again—not a training sequence but for _real_. She looked at her fellow students, thinking that perhaps one or two of them might not even make it back to the school...just like Jean Grey.

She felt somebody touch her hand. It was Bobby. "Hey, you all right?" he asked her.

"Just nervous, Bobby," she said. "I don't think I'll ever get used to the fighting that we do."

"Hey—don't worry," Bobby told her, squeezing her hand gently. "I'll be watching your back like the last time. I won't let anything happen to you."

Kitty couldn't speak at first; all she wanted to do was just hold Bobby's hand. Somehow, it did help make things feel all right.

"Thanks, Bobby," she finally said.

Logan exited the flight deck and stood in front of his young charges. "One minute to showtime, everybody. Remember—Bobby, Kitty, and Laura go with me. Theresa, Roberto, Hisako—stay with Zee and Mr. Cassidy. Any questions?"

"Any word from Mr. Wagner?" Bobby asked.

Zee broke in over the intercom. "Kurt Wagner just radioed in his position, Logan. He's in the tunnels and making his way towards Danger Zone's squad."

"All right, Zee," Wolverine said. "Tell him to stay put somewhere safe and wait for my group to link up with him."

"Roger that," Zee replied.

"Thirty seconds—get ready for deployment!" Sean announced.

Evangeline was about to begin questioning Admiral Suvurov when one of the DMA's communications specialists approached Judge Chalmers with a written message. After reading the message and conferring briefly with the DMA man, he made an announcement: "I'd like to see both counsels in chambers, please."

The two lawyers left the courtroom behind the presiding justice. The representatives began to speak quietly among themselves.

"What do you suppose is going on, sir?" Dr. Windsor asked Dr. McCoy.

"I'm not quite sure, Robert," the mutant representative said. "I'm sure it's just a short delay."

"They'd better make sure that Lehnsherr doesn't try to escape," Dr. Shaw spoke up, not caring if the object of his statement heard him or not. Magneto, for his part, didn't seem to notice or care.

"He won't escape," Secretary Trask declared. "I've made sure of it."

"Gentlemen, please," Dr. Windsor told his fellow representatives. "We're supposed to consider Mr. Lehnsherr innocent until proven guilty, remember?"

"Pah! You're a sentimental fool, Windsor," Dr. Shaw spat out with contempt. "You and your mentor have never really understood what a threat Lehnsherr is to the safety of the world."

"Perhaps not, Dr. Shaw," the Secretary for Mutant Affairs said, "but while we're in a court of law, I should hope that we would be able to maintain a degree of impartiality that can allow us to see beyond our respective biases."

Dr. Shaw had no response but a surly grimace. Secretary Trask turned his attention to his mobile phone, checking it for any updates regarding his son's status.

"Well put, Robert," Dr. McCoy said with a hint of a smile.

"Thank you, sir," Dr. Windsor said. "That's one of the first things you taught me, if I remember correctly."

At that moment, Judge Chalmers returned. Evangeline and Fortune returned to their respective places. "All right, ladies and gentlemen," the presiding justice spoke. "We'll have a ten-minute recess. I'd like to speak to the four representatives in chambers, please."

"What's happening, Evangeline?" Magneto

"According to Judge Chalmers, the DMA received word of a disturbance in the city, Mr. Lehnsherr," Evangeline told her client. "He wants to speak with the representatives first to determine if it will be possible to continue the trial."

"How bad is this disturbance?" Magneto wanted to know.

"DMA Security is already thinking of sending in some units to provide assistance to the police, sir," Evangeline replied. "Other than that, I don't know any other details."

"I suppose Logan and Ororo have already dispatched some of their students to look into the matter." Magneto thought about Evangeline's news silently for a few moments and then said: "We'll just have to wait for the presiding justice's decision. I'm sure he'll make the right—" Magneto's statement was interrupted by the approach of the opposing counsel. Fortune had a smile on his face that reminded Magneto of his former control officers during his days as a Nazi hunter. Those smiles usually preceded the acts of compromise that eventually caused Magneto to leave that line of work.

"Looks like we're in for a quiet spell, aren't we, Ms. Whedon?" Fortune asked.

"Yes, it does." Evangeline placed her hands on the table in front of her. "What may I do for you, counselor?"

"Oh, I just wanted to know how you were doing, Ms. Whedon," Fortune said. "I mean, this is your first big case and all that, I just wanted to make sure that you were all right with it."

"What exactly do you mean by all right?" Evangeline asked.

"I mean, this is a tough break," Fortune explained. "I remember my first big case...I had to defend a gun company from a damage suit after someone went berserk in an office with one of their products. I tell you, I sweated blood on that one."

"Did you win it, counselor?"

"Of course I did." Fortune gave his opposing counsel an ear-to-ear grin. "What I'm saying is that I know how tough it is to win a big case when it's your first. That's why whenever I'm up against someone who's in the same position I was back then, I always try to ease them into a win-win situation."

"And what exactly is your definition of a win-win situation?" Evangeline thought she had an idea of what was coming next but she still wanted to hear it from Fortune himself.

"Well, now, that all depends, doesn't it? The charges facing your client aren't exactly minor ones, are they?" Fortune stuck his hands in his pockets and put on his dealmaker's smile. "But that doesn't mean we can't find a way to make sure that he doesn't have to be punished too harshly for them."

Evangeline raised an eyebrow. "Are you asking me to enter a plea bargain, Mr. Fortune?"

"We could work out the terms, I'm sure. Mr. Lehnsherr wouldn't have to be kept in this maximum security facility...we could have him placed in a minimum security facility where his family can visit him. Wouldn't you like that? Wouldn't you want Mr. Lehnsherr to spend his days outside a prison cell?" Fortune put all his energy into his smile, hoping that it would be enough to charm the opposing counsel into seeing things his way. After all, he reasoned, what chance did she have of winning?

"That's certainly true, counselor," Evangeline admitted. "But then again, I'm quite confident that the facts will come down on our side. Your offer will undoubtedly be generous but I'm afraid I'll have to turn it down."

Fortune kept the smile on; he'd been through this before. Pride goes before a fall, he was fond of telling his associates. "Are you sure, Ms. Whedon? Why don't you ask Mr. Lehnsherr before you turn me down?"

Evangeline turned towards her client. "Mr. Lehnsherr—would you like to accept counsel's offer?"

"I accede to your wisdom, Ms. Whedon," Magneto replied with a smile and a courtly bow. "After all, you are my attorney."

"Thank you for you offer, counsel," Evangeline said. "But I think we'll see this trial through to the end."

"As you wish, Ms. Whedon," Fortune said. His smile showed that he wasn't insulted by the opposing counsel's impertinence. Pride comes before a fall—that was one of his fundamental beliefs and it looked to be what would happen here—no, it was _certainly_ what would happen here. He would see to it.

Bishop stood quietly in a corner of Judge Chalmers' chambers, skimming through some of the books and periodicals that were there. Most of them pertained to the statutes that had been put in place to address mutant rights; the rest were about international humanitarian law and civil rights. Behind him, he could hear the representatives talking to each other as they approached the chambers.

Judge Alwina spoke: "And how are you holding up, Agent Bishop?"

"As well as can be expected, your honor," was Bishop's answer. "I'd feel a whole lot better, though, once that trouble in the city is taken care of by the police and the Bureau."

"You want to be there, don't you?" Judge Alwina wanted to know.

"Frankly, I'd like to be leading the FBI Metahuman Division while they're taking the field," Bishop told her, "but my responsibilities here are just as great."

"I'm sure they'll do the right thing," Judge Alwina said. She turned around to look at the people in the room. "Ah. All the representatives are here."

Once everyone was seated, the presiding justice addressed them: "The reason I've called you here, ladies and gentlemen, is that we have a security matter to discuss."

"Has one of Lehnsherr's henchmen come to free him?" Dr. Shaw asked.

"No, doctor," Judge Chalmers replied. "I'll let Agent Bishop explain." He nodded at the FBI man.

Bishop wasted no time: "There's been an outbreak of violence in the city, specifically in the area known as M-Town. Our intelligence reports indicate that the mutant gangs who occupy that area have taken advantage of the trial to launch an all-out war against one another."

"That doesn't make sense," Dr. Windsor spoke up. "With the increased police presence in the city, don't they realize that they're going to meet an equally forceful response?"

"That would be true, Mr. Secretary," Bishop agreed. "Unfortunately, the police have their hands full keeping the peace between anti-mutant and pro-mutant activists. They're being stretched thin."

"Isn't the Bureau going to intervene?" Dr. McCoy asked.

"We're sending our Metahuman Division units there right now, Mr. Ambassador," Bishop told him. "And the National Guard is on standby in case they need to be deployed."

"I can send some of my Vault Security Forces to assist," was Tony Stark's offer. "They have the logistics and the training to deal with metahuman threats." He took out his mobile phone and was about to dial up Stark Enterprises but Bishop said: "Thank you, Mr. Stark, but I believe Dr. Cooper and Director Hill have already put some of their personnel on ready status, as well."

"That's correct, Agent Bishop," Maria Hill said. Dr. Cooper seconded her statement.

"Still, I think I should have some of my men on alert." As Stark was making the call, Secretary Trask stood up. "With all due respect, Dr. Cooper, Director Hill, Mr. Stark—you don't have to send your men into that conflict. Homeland Security has activated Project Wide Awake. All I have to do is instruct the Sentinels to be sent to the city and the mutant threat will be wiped out."

"Don't you think you're being a little rash?" Dr. Moreau asked.

"He's right," Dr. McCoy said. "And if I'm not mistaken, the Sentinel armored units are supposed to be providing security for the trial—not hunting mutant criminal groups."

"You'd rather that they run loose, Ambassador?" Secretary Trask retorted.

"Secretary Trask, I understand your eagerness to demonstrate the efficacy of Project Wide Awake," Judge Alwina interjected, "but I think that Ambassador McCoy has a point. Your agency's mandate is to provide protection for everyone here until the end of this trial. Let the ONE, SHIELD, the National Guard, the FBI, and the police do their jobs."

"Thank you, your honor," Bishop said. "She's right, Secretary. Let us handle whatever is going on in the city. Keep the Sentinels here to make sure that nothing can get to the DMA and disrupt the trial."

"Fine," Secretary Trask said. "But don't say I didn't try to lend a hand when that trouble in the city erupts into a full-blown crisis."

"The trial will continue, then, ladies and gentlemen," Judge Chalmers declared. "Let's pick up where we left off, shall we?"

On the way back to the courtroom, Dr. Windsor approached Secretary Trask. "Excuse me, Mr. Secretary," he said quietly, "may I have a word with you?"

"What is it, doctor?" the Homeland Security head asked. Dr. Windsor took him aside, well away from the other representatives. Then he looked at him with glowing red eyes and said: "Order a squad of Sentinels to be deployed to deal with the mutants rioting in the city, Secretary Trask."

Secretary Trask didn't even attempt to resist Dr. Windsor's command. He took out his mobile phone and dialed the command center for Project Wide Awake. As he issued orders to his subordinates, the Mutant Affairs secretary left him and returned to the courtroom.

"Glad you could join us again, Dr. Windsor," Judge Chalmers said pointedly. "And where is Secretary Trask?"

"My apologies, your honor," Dr. Windsor said sheepishly. "Secretary Trask had an important call to receive—I believe it's a family matter of a most urgent nature." A few moments later, Secretary Trask entered the courtroom. "Sorry for the delay, your honor. I—" he started to say but the presiding justice cut him off impatiently: "Dr. Windsor explained the reason for your tardiness, Mr. Secretary. Please take your seat so we can resume the trial."


	16. Chapter 16

Fox was making her way back to where her teammates were when she heard people approaching. She immediately took cover in the shadows, sticking to the wall as closely as possible.

They came into view a few minutes later, eight men walking quickly but not hurriedly. They were dressed in a motley array of military gear with metallic parts that Fox soon realized were cybernetic attachments to their bodies. Eight cyborgs...she thought briefly about intercepting them but decided against it. She didn't want to draw attention to her presence or that of her teammates. She was planning to let them pass her when she saw the bodies.

_What the—? _At first, Fox had the impression that they were carrying equipment in duffel bags or gunny sacks. But then she smelled blood. Her eyes focused on the loads that four of the cyborgs bore and saw the awful truth: they were mutants. And the cyborgs were taking them to wherever they were going.

"Come on, Sullivan," the cyborg at the head of their group said to one in the rear. "Double time!"

"Yeah, yeah," Sullivan answered. "Don't bust my tail, Dalton. Besides—I don't see you carrying any of these muties."

"Why do we have to bring these things with us anyway?" another cyborg asked.

"The doc wants them for her lab work and that's all we need to know, Morretti," Dalton replied. "Besides, we're getting paid for it."

"Humping dead bodies around isn't my idea of a good time," Sullivan said. "Even if we are getting a good chunk of change for it."

"They're not dead," Moretti remarked. "Mine's just a bit knocked out but it's still alive. I remember the doc said not to kill any muties worth taking back unless we had no choice."

Fox uttered a whispered growl. The mutants were barely alive and the cyborgs were going to bring them to someone's laboratory for experimentation.

_No way,_ she thought. _I'm not letting that happen._ Like so many other times before, her feral rage overrode her caution. She leaped out of the shadows and attacked the cyborg guarding the group's flank closest to her, disarming him and sending him flying into the wall behind her.

"It's a mutie!" Moretti yelled.

Dalton said nothing. He calmly aimed his weapon at Fox and squeezed the trigger. She easily avoided the burst of fire, using the other cyborgs for cover. One of them went down as his leg was shot out from under him. Fox knocked the other flanker down with a swift kick to the head.

"Damn mutie," Sullivan growled. He tossed his living cargo aside. "Hey!" he bellowed. "Let's see you take me on, little girl!"

Fox stopped and eyed her opponent warily. He was bigger than she was; wider too. He looked a bit like that Russian guy from Professor Xavier's school except that he didn't look even a quarter as good. His head was bald, his left eye was artificial, and his arms were totally sheathed in metal. The snarl on his face was meant to intimidate her and it did—a little, anyway.

The other cyborgs formed a perimeter around the two combatants. Fox noted their positions, knowing she would need them. For several moments, she and Sullivan advanced, withdrew, advanced again, and withdrew again.

She watched his feints carefully, readying herself for the charge that she knew would come. _He's bigger...but he's slower than I am,_ she thought. In a heartbeat, she moved, aiming a flying kick at his head. She caught him between the eyes with enough force to break an ordinary human neck. Unfortunately, Sullivan wasn't an ordinary human. He simply shrugged off the blow and dared her to attack him again. Fox obliged—but this time Sullivan sidestepped, caught her, and threw her towards the tunnel wall. Only her reflexes kept her from smashing into the hard surface. Sullivan, however, pressed his attack, charging her like a freight train. Again, Fox's agility helped her dodge what could have been a killing blow.

_Not good. Not good at all._ Already she was wondering if she should hightail it out of there. She knew, however, that she couldn't let them take the Morlocks in order to use them as guinea pigs in some lab.

Fox's moment of distraction was all Sullivan needed; before she knew it, a very hard kick sent her flying backwards. She felt a sharp pain lance into her from her ribs. Just as she was about to collide with the wall, however, she felt someone grab her. There was a small explosion and the smell of sulfur. Then she heard a gentle voice speak: "Rest for now, _fraulein_." She watched through hazy eyes as something manlike but with a tail pressed something into her hand and then disappeared into thin air, leaving her in an empty section of the tunnels.

"Where did that mutie go?" Sullivan asked no one in particular. He was still in a fighting mood and searching for an outlet to vent his rage.

"Pardon me—but were you referring to me?" Nightcrawler asked as he reappeared in front of the cyborg.

"Morlock!" Dalton cried out. The rest of the squad responded automatically. Sullivan ducked out of the way as his teammates opened fire. The sound of bullets thudding into the tunnel wall lasted for several moments until Moretti realized that they were firing at nothing.

"What the—?" Moretti stepped forward to examine the wall. Except for the fact that it was now crumbling from the shots it had taken, there was no sign that it was hollow or modified in anyway to function as a secret passage.

"Where did he go?" one of the cyborgs asked.

"Damned if I know," Moretti replied. "He can't have—" His statement was cut short when Nightcrawler made his return in a puff of smoke. The element of surprise gave him all the edge he needed against the cyborgs close to him as he quickly disarmed and disabled them. Only Sullivan was left standing.

"Looks like it's just you and me now, _mein freund_," Nightcrawler said. "But I'll make a compromise that might serve both of us: leave now and never return to these tunnels. I give you my word that I will inflict no harm upon you—"

Sullivan's roar of rage cut off Nightcrawler's proposal. His massive fist swung but failed to connect with its intended target. Instead it hit the tunnel floor, creating a small crater.

"I take it that means you decline to accept my compromise?" Nightcrawler asked jokingly. Sullivan yanked his fist out of the crater and charged.

Nightcrawler easily jumped, rolled, and slid out of his reach. Sullivan swung, his frustration building, until he saw that his opponent had his back to the tunnel wall and nowhere else to go.

"Got you this time, mutie," he said. He leaped right at Nightcrawler...who simply teleported out of his range. The last thing Nightcrawler heard was the sickening sound of Sullivan's skull—which was apparently still human—crunching against the tunnel wall.

He returned to Fox's side. She was trying to sit up. "_Nein_," he told her gently, "do not move, please, until we can ascertain your injuries."

"I'm fine, mister," Fox said with a bit of effort. "I'm not as fragile as I look."

"Perhaps not," Nightcrawler agreed, "but you still need medical attention." He reached into his belt pack and produced a first aid kit. "Tell me—where does it hurt?"

"My ribs probably got bruised but I—" was all Fox was able to say; Nightcrawler pressed her side as gently as he could, bringing her another jolt of pain.

"You have broken a rib or two, _fraulein_," was his observation. He took out a bandage roll. "Please remove your jacket and raise your shirt. This shouldn't take too long."

A chastened Fox did what she was told. As Nightcrawler tended to her injury, she asked: "Who are you, anyway? Some kind of doctor?"

Nightcrawler nodded. "I'm a field medic for Professor Charles Xavier's students whenever they go out on assignment. My name is Kurt Wagner or you may call me Nightcrawler, if you wish."

"You're one of the X-Men?" Fox said. Despite her pain, she was actually thrilled. "My name is Fox. Actually, that's my last name. My friends call me Shalimar."

"I'm pleased to make your acquaintance, Ms. Fox," Nightcrawler said. He cut the bandage deftly and clipped it together. "There you go, _fraulein_. That should do until a real doctor can look at you. Now, shall we find your teammates? That tracking device I left with you should allow my teammates to find us."

"I'll take you to them," Fox said.

"Excellent. Pardon me if my teleportation causes you any further discomfort," Nightcrawler said. "It's an unfortunate side effect of that particular ability."

"I'll manage, sir," Fox assured him. He held onto her and then teleported to where the rest of Fox's team was waiting for her.

"Mother of..." Kitty felt her stomach lurch and fought the urge to throw up. She knelt before a small form splayed out before her on the tunnel floor. Against her better judgment, she decided to take a closer look and soon learned that it was the body of a child she was looking at. Armadillo-like scales notwithstanding, it appeared to be a little boy.

"Whoa, easy there, Kitty." Somebody touched her gently on the arm. She looked beside her and saw Wolverine eyeing the body with a grimace of disgust and anger.

"I...I didn't think it would be this bad, Logan," Kitty whispered. Her hand went up to her mouth as she felt her gorge rise. Despite all the news reports that they had received at the Xavier Mansion's command center and on the Blackbird's communications network, she had no clue that they would be walking into a situation that closely resembled a slaughterhouse. Wolverine didn't rib her for wanting to throw up at the carnage around them; even his own experiences scarcely prepared him for the amount of bloodshed that they had stumbled upon beneath M-Town. He looked over to where Bobby stood, trying bravely not to toss his cookies the way Kitty was about to but his face registered the kind of shock a soldier suffers during his first real firefight.

After several long moments, Kitty got herself under control. Wolverine proudly noted that she hadn't thrown up after all.

"Sorry about that, Logan," she said.

"It's okay, kid," he assured her. "This isn't the kind of thing you're supposed to see." Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted someone moving towards them. His nose caught Laura's scent right away. He stood up and walked towards her, leaving Bobby to take care of Kitty.

"You all right?" Bobby asked Kitty as he helped her up.

"No, Bobby, I'm not," she replied, leaning her head against his chest. "This is terrible...I mean, who would kill a kid? What would they want to do that for?" She closed her eyes, tears of sorrow running down her cheeks.

"I don't know, Kitty," Bobby told her. "I guess that's what we're here to find out." He held her close, trying to comfort her as best as he could.

"What did you find down that way?" Wolverine asked Laura as she was coming up to him.

"More bodies," Laura replied. "There's a trail we can follow."

Wolverine mulled over that piece of information. "Whose trail?"

"The ones who did this," Laura answered. She looked Wolverine straight in the eye, making her desire to pursue the Morlocks' killers plain for him to see.

"Negative," Wolverine said. "First order of business is to find Kurt and Danger Zone's squad and then get them to someplace safe."

Laura didn't respond at first; then she shrugged slightly and said: "All right."

Wolverine turned his attention to the two other members of his team. "Kitty—have you pinpointed Kurt's location?"

Kitty checked the palmtop computer that she carried with her. "He's in another section of the tunnels, about five hundred meters away from here."

Laura went up to her teammate. "Let me see," she said. Kitty showed her the palmtop's display. After a few moments of silence as she studied the map shown by the computer, Laura said: "There's a faster way."

"You mean you know a short cut?" Bobby said.

Laura nodded. "Out through there. Then left."

"All right, let's go," Wolverine said. "Laura—take the lead. Kitty, you're her shadow. Bobby, behind Kitty and I take the rear. Got it?" The other X-Men answered in the affirmative. Laura led them away from the bodies at a fast jog. She made a left turn that led to a section of the tunnels that had been sealed off—most likely during one of the many reconstruction projects undertaken to upgrade the sewers. Laura reached around the metal hatch before them, triggered some kind of lock, and swung the hatch open. "Careful," she told her teammates. "It goes down." She stepped inside the tunnel. Kitty went next, Bobby came after her, and Wolverine was last, shutting the hatch after them. He heard the lock click back into place. The way down was dimly lit by trouble lights strung up above them.

"Where to now?" Bobby asked as Laura knelt on the tunnel floor. Two opposite paths branched out before them.

"There were Morlocks here," she said.

Wolverine knelt down beside her. "How long ago?" He could make out faint traces of footsteps in the dirt and dust of the tunnel floor; he could also smell sweat, blood—and fear.

"A few hours," Laura replied. She looked towards the rightward tunnel.

"Maybe it's the Morlocks that Mr. Caine's team is protecting," Kitty suggested. She consulted her palmtop. "Mr. Wagner doesn't seem to be with them, though."

"So what do we do, Logan?" Bobby asked his team leader. "Do we go and find them?"

Wolverine thought about it. He knew that Laura wanted to search out who was responsible for the massacre and destroy them. Admittedly, so did he but their primary objective had to be completed. The idea of fighting an unknown enemy with a high potential for collateral damage didn't appeal to him.

"No," he finally said. "We find Kurt first. We can't defend the Morlocks if they're scattered all over the tunnels."

"Okay," Laura said. She pointed to the other tunnel. "That way."

Nightcrawler unrolled the last compression bandage that he had and put it around the leg—more like a tentacle, actually—of a female Morlock teenager. After making sure she was stable, he stood up and stretched, thinking to himself, _I wish Joshua were here._ Joshua Foley was one of the younger students at the school; he had the mutant ability to heal others, whether mutant or human. He could usually be found in the dispensary between classes, assisting Dr. Cecilia Reyes. Hank McCoy regarded him as one of his best students in the life sciences when he taught there for a while following the Alcatraz Incident. Both Dr. McCoy and Dr. Reyes believed that, were the circumstances different, Josh would have made an excellent medical student. He had an excellent bedside manner and he was truly committed to learning more about his abilities and how to use them in the service of others. When new refugees showed up at the school, Josh pitched in, tending to the sick and the injured alongside Dr. Reyes, Martha Johansson, and Rogue.

He turned around as someone called his name. It was Fox.

"How are your ribs, _fraulein_?" he asked her.

"I'm okay," she told him. "How are you holding up, sir?"

"Reasonably well, although I wish the school doctor and her student assistants were here," Nightcrawler said. "I'm out of medical supplies."

"The Morlocks are patched up as best as possible," Fox said. "Thanks for helping us with that, Mr. Wagner."

"You and your friends are most welcome," Nightcrawler said. "How long are we going to stay here?" They were in another section of the tunnels that the Morlocks apparently used as a hidden refuge during times of crisis. It seemed to be a reasonably safe place but Nightcrawler wondered how much it held by way of food, water, and medicine. As far as he could tell, there were no such supplies.

"For as long as the enemy is hunting us down, X-Man," came a reply in a somewhat gravelly female voice. The other Morlocks instantly recognized the person speaking.

"Marrow!" they exclaimed. "You're still alive!" others joined in.

Marrow stepped out from a secret passage. Behind her was Wicked. She had a makeshift bandage around her upper arm.

"It takes more than cyborgs to kill me," Marrow said. She eyed the Morlocks before her. "Are these the only survivors? Where is the Healer?"

"We don't know," Flash Bang replied. "These were the only Morlocks we were able to rescue."

"Some rescue," Marrow said with more than a little contempt in her voice. She turned towards Wicked. "Stay here. Help them bring the others to safety."

"Where are you going?" Wicked asked.

"To find the Healer and whoever else is still alive," Marrow told her.

"Surely, _fraulein_," Nightcrawler said, "you don't intend to do that on your own?"

"We can't spare anyone here," Marrow said. "You're going to need help to evade those cyborgs in the tunnels. Just make sure they do bring these mutants somewhere safe, all right, Wicked?"

Wicked nodded. "Understood." During their time together, Marrow had trained the younger mutant to be a capable lieutenant, much as Callisto had done with Marrow before she went aboveground. Whenever Marrow needed someone to take her place as leader in her absence, she knew instinctively that she could rely on Wicked. The younger mutant's age belied the knowledge that her mentor had imparted to her and the other Morlocks had come to view her as someone to be trusted and obeyed. Even better, she was looked up to by the Morlocks her age or younger; her connection to them was strong enough that they did what she told them to without hesitation. Marrow could count on her to keep things under control and in line while she was away.

"All right. I'll be back as soon as I can." With that, Marrow turned to leave but Nightcrawler ran after her.

"Wait, _fraulein_...Marrow, is it?" he said. "You know very well that you can't fight those cyborgs all by yourself."

"Maybe," Marrow replied. "Maybe not. But I'm going anyway."

"Tarry a moment, please," Nightcrawler said. Marrow paused, waiting with thinly veiled impatience. "What is it, X-Man?" she demanded quietly.

"I'll go with you," Nightcrawler offered.

"Stay with the others, X-Man," Marrow told him pointedly. "Leave this fight to those who have a stake in it."

"The Morlocks aren't the only ones with a stake in this fight, Marrow," Nightcrawler said to her. "All mutantkind has a stake in the events taking place down here and above us on the streets. And if there's one thing I learned from Professor Xavier in the brief time I knew him, it's this: mutants are better off standing together than they are fighting each other."

Marrow surprised Nightcrawler—and not a few of the Morlocks—by actually smiling, however slightly, at his words. She'd heard them before—from Magneto's former henchman, Toad, in fact. It appeared that both Magneto and Xavier had something in common, after all. She shrugged noncommittally and said: "Suit yourself."

"What about us?" Fox asked Nightcrawler. She touched his arm gently. "Won't you need our help? Maybe I can't go but my friends can."

"Not this time, _fraulein_," he said. "Protecting the Morlocks comes first. Let Marrow and I locate the other survivors." _Assuming there are any left,_ Nightcrawler added silently. He reached into his belt pack and produced a spare transmitter like the one that Kitty was homing in on to find him. He switched it to the emergency frequency used by the X-Men. "There," he said, pressing it into Fox's hand. "Now my friends can come and help while we search for other the Morlocks."

"Are you coming or not?" Marrow called from the entry point into the secret passage.

"Be careful, sir," Fox told Nightcrawler as he turned to join Marrow.

"I will," he said. "God bless you and keep you, _fraulein_." He and Marrow stepped into the entry point. Marrow snapped her fingers to get his attention and pointed to their right. The two mutants ran several meters down the tunnel and then stopped at an intersection. Marrow pressed a spot on the wall to reveal a hidden doorway. They entered another of the dimly lit passageways favored by the Morlocks. Nightcrawler followed her despite the many winding paths that they traveled, thanks to his night vision. Even Marrow was impressed that he was able to keep up with her. Not having a watch, Nightcrawler lost track of the time as they moved from one passage to another. Marrow's abrupt commands to move or stop were the extent of their conversation. She half-expected him to become quickly disoriented in the tunnels and even beg off from accompanying her but Nightcrawler kept up the pace that she set, not lagging even for a moment.

"Looks like I underestimated you, X-Man," Marrow told him as they made their way up a ladder leading to another section of the tunnels. "You're pretty quick on your feet, aren't you?"

"_Danke_," Nightcrawler said. "It's no wonder why the Morlocks are rarely seen. I didn't know there were this many tunnels under the streets."

Marrow opened a hatchway. "We have to move around unseen, X-Man. I think you know why, even though you've spent just a little of your time with us."

"You needn't remind me," Nightcrawler told her. "I know very well how most of the Morlocks must feel."

Marrow was silent for a while; she had to concede the point that Nightcrawler made. His appearance wasn't exactly one that would stand out too much among the Morlocks. Again, she found herself thinking that perhaps there was truth in his words and Toad's—perhaps there was more in common among mutantkind than even she wished to admit.

"This way," was all she said once the hatch was open. Nightcrawler leapt up onto the wall and then crawled along the ceiling while Marrow ran below him. Again they maintained a hurried pace. They moved rapidly from one tunnel to another. Each time, the tunnels were deserted.

"It must be hard for you out there," she said several minutes later. "Being different from everyone, even from your fellow X-Men."

"It has its disadvantages," Nightcrawler admitted. "But then, Dr. McCoy doesn't look too different from me and he's now an ambassador."

"You think you'll ever get that opportunity?" Marrow asked, trying not to sound too cynical or incredulous.

"Perhaps," Nightcrawler replied. "But even if I don't, I'm still doing something worthwhile." He paused and then asked: "What about you, Marrow? What do you think about spending your life down here?"

Marrow took her time before answering. It wasn't until they had cleared two more tunnels that she spoke: "Someone has to protect the Morlocks. Isn't that what you X-Men do? Protect mutants and humans from each other? That's what I do down here—except that I have to keep the Morlocks safe from other mutants as well."

"And you don't regret that you have to stay down here?" Nightcrawler pressed her. "To be frank, Marrow, when it come to appearances, I look more like a Morlock than you do."

That caught Marrow's attention. She stopped in front of another hatchway. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that you look closer to what a normal human being would look like more than I do," Nightcrawler explained with a slight smile.

Again, the barest hint of a smile crept almost unwillingly across Marrow's face. "Is that supposed to be a compliment, X-Man?" she wanted to know.

"If you wish to take it that way," Nightcrawler told her in an offhand kind of way. He was still smiling though. It was the kind of smile that infuriated Marrow for being enigmatic and yet pleased her for being sincere. She knew that when she kept her mutation repressed, she could pass for a human female. During the few times that she actually accompanied Wicked aboveground and walked among the normal people, not a few men turned their heads to mark her passage. Wicked pointed this out to her and said that being out of the tunnels could teach her a thing or two about herself as well as about humans. Marrow couldn't remember what she said by way of reply; most likely, she just ignored Wicked's words. And yet, here she was, apparently getting the attention of another male, mutant though he may be. At least he was fairly sincere with his remarks.

"You're something else, X-Man," was Marrow's only comment.

"I suppose I am," Nightcrawler agreed. He looked around them. "Are we actually getting anywhere, by the way, or did you somehow get lost in these tunnels?"

"We're not lost," Marrow said. "We've been going through some of the other emergency shelters that the Morlocks use. None of them are there. And that means that either the ones we left behind are the only Morlocks who are still alive—"

"Which I think is impossible," Nightcrawler interjected.

"I agree." Marrow opened the hatchway before them. "I think we should keep looking. We need to find whoever else is out there before those cyborgs destroy them—especially the Healer. We need him very badly." They entered the tunnel and, almost simultaneously, she and Nightcrawler stopped. Above them, very near yet another hatchway that led upwards, they could hear voices.

"Are those—?" Nightcrawler whispered.

"No," Marrow replied, activating her bone armor and claws. "I think some unwanted guests decided to linger."

"The cyborgs that Fox and I fought were harvesting Morlock bodies," Nightcrawler told her. "Perhaps these are another group doing the same thing."

"Now that's a mistake that they should never have made." Marrow listened to the voices and then pointed to another offshoot of the tunnel they were in. "We can go through there and intercept them."

Nightcrawler objected: "I thought finding other survivors was your first concern?"

"They may have the other survivors," Marrow said. "Or they could be hunting them down. Better to dispose of them either way. I don't want any of them sweeping through the tunnels."

"We have to be careful and quick," Nightcrawler warned her. "If they get away or warn their comrades, we'll have difficulty keeping them from finding the others."

"Agreed," Marrow said. "Come on—we go this way."


	17. Chapter 17

Evangeline read through her notes as she waited for the communications link between the DMA and Russia to be restored. Silently, she thanked her assistant, Marie D'Ancanto, for the thorough research that she'd done when they were preparing Magneto's defense.

She read through the documents before her carefully, not just searching for information regarding the incident in Russia but also to get a clearer picture of Admiral Suvurov. Her initial instincts told her that the naval officer was more than just a relic of the old Soviet Union. He wasn't just a cog in the Russian war machine. Otherwise, she knew, he would be calling for Magneto's execution just like Dr. Shaw and Secretary Trask.

The admiral's image reappeared on the screen. Judge Chalmers rapped his gavel to catch Evangeline's attention and told her, "You may begin your cross examination, Counselor."

"Thank you, Your Honor." She stood up and approached the screen. Admiral Suvurov got his first look at the lawyer in charge of Magneto's defense. To his credit, he managed to hide his surprise at seeing someone so young—never mind being a woman—being assigned such an important case.

"Good morning, Admiral Suvurov," Evangeline began. "Thank you for joining us once more."

"Good morning, madame," the admiral replied politely.

"Admiral, you stated earlier that a decision was made to launch a nuclear strike against the two groups attacking the research facility—" Evangeline was saying but Fortune interjected: "Mutant terrorists, counselor. Please be specific. The facility was being attacked by mutant terrorists."

"Counselor, you've had your turn," Judge Chalmers reminded the chief prosecutor. "Refrain from making any further remarks unless it's to object to some point."

"My apologies, Your Honor," Fortune said.

Evangeline thanked the presiding justice and continued: "As I was saying, Admiral, you stated that during the course of the battle, a decision was made to launch a nuclear strike against the two groups attacking the research facility."

Admiral Suvurov nodded. "Yes, that is correct."

"Who made the decision to do so, Admiral?" Evangeline wanted to know.

"The Security Council did, madame," the naval officer told her. "As I said, the threat was considered to be beyond the capacity of conventional military forces to defeat."

"Were you informed or consulted regarding this decision, sir?"

"Yes, we were. The Secretary himself personally spoke with me and my counterparts in the Army and the Air Force, General Krimov, General Stormavik."

"Would you tell us what he told you about this decision?"

Admiral Suvurov thought back briefly to that fateful day before recounting the events of which Evangeline making her inquiries. He and his two comrades were trying to organize the defense of the research facility. Thus far, the Army and Protection Service troops were holding their lines against Cortez and Rossovich's assault but the three supreme officers knew that it would not be long before the enemy had the upper hand once again. Admiral Suvurov and General Stormavik were readying air support for the ground forces when the call from the council came through. Secretary Ourumov immediately informed the three commanding officers that the "nuclear option" had been approved by the President.

"And what was your response, Admiral?" Evangeline asked.

"General Krimov and General Stormavik opposed it," the naval officer said, "as did I."

"Why was that, sir?"

"The nuclear option has always been a last resort, madame. In this situation, we felt that it was not warranted and that we could have turned the tide against the enemy using our available manpower and materiel."

Evangeline walked over to the table where her documents lay. Once again, she silently thanked Marie for her efficiency as an assistant. "And what was Secretary Ourumov's response?" she asked, turning around to face the screen.

Admiral Suvurov looked at the camera with a grave expression on his face. "He told us that the nuclear option was preferable over conventional warfare. He spoke of preventing what he felt would be an inevitable mutant invasion of Russia if we were to fail to prevent Cortez and Rossovich from taking the research facility. Also, it was his belief that the mutants would not surrender. It would be do-or-die with them in this battle."

"Do you agree with that assessment, Admiral?"

"Madame," the admiral said, "there seemed little doubt to me or my fellow officers that the mutants were indeed willing to die to attain their objective. And yet, I still say that our ground and air forces would have stopped the mutants."

"Without any need for a nuclear strike, would that be correct, sir?"

"Correct," Admiral Suvurov said.

"But Secretary Ourumov didn't see it that way."

"No, madame, he did not. He felt that a nuclear strike would be the most expeditious means of ensuring victory and that it was justified since we were fighting what he called a 'total war for survival' against Cortez and Rossovich. To be honest, the casualties that we took during that battle would give credence to his argument."

"How many casualties were inflicted upon your side, Admiral?"

"Fully a third of the ground troops were killed in action, madame," Admiral Suvurov said. He kept his emotions in check but Evangeline could see the sorrow in his eyes for the men who died in the fighting. "Of the remaining, almost half were wounded seriously."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Admiral," Evangeline said with genuine regret and sympathy. "So why did you and your fellow officers object to the nuclear strike? It would have saved many lives that day."

"Perhaps it would but the three of us doubted it."

"And why was that, sir?"

"Because we were not ordered to withdraw our troops or evacuate the personnel inside the research facility," Admiral Suvurov said, a trace of anger emanating from his voice. "If the nuclear strike had been carried out, _all_ of the men who were fighting that day would very well have been killed."

"Why was there no call for withdrawal or evacuation, sir?" Evangeline asked.

"Apparently, our troops were to be the bait to keep the mutants from learning of the nuclear strike until it hit them." Admiral Suvurov reined in his anger but Evangeline could still sense it. "The research personnel, in the meantime, were to make sure that nothing of value fell into enemy hands."

Evangeline let the naval officer's statement sink into the minds of all those watching or listening to the trial. She hoped that an important point would be made and understood. She was correct, after all—Admiral Suvurov was no hawk. He was a soldier in the best sense of the word.

"And that was the reason for your objection to the nuclear strike, Admiral?"

"Partly," the admiral agreed, "but there was another reason, madame."

"And what was that, sir?" Evangeline asked.

"A small group of aircraft undertook a reconnaissance flight over the area on General Stormavik's orders," Admiral Suvurov replied. "And it was found that there was a fairly large village near the facility. Some of the mutants were already on their way to attack it, in fact, but the intervention of those pilots prevented them from carrying out their plans."

"And this village would have been affected by the nuclear strike?"

"Madame, that village would have been destroyed if a nuclear strike was launched, considering the magnitude of the attack that Secretary Ourumov was contemplating. One of my senior medical officers told me that, by his projections, the results of a major nuclear strike would have dwarfed the tragedy at Chernobyl."

"And what was the magnitude of the nuclear strike that Secretary Ourumov wanted to be carried out?"

"As he told us, he wanted nothing left alive to prosecute the attack on the facility any further," Admiral Suvurov said. "He wanted everything within the target area to be neutralized completely."

"Everything? Including—" Evangeline couldn't help but feel a fresh sense of horror at what had nearly transpired during that battle.

"Yes, including our troops and the nearby village," Admiral Suvurov finished her sentence for her.

Again, Evangeline let that statement sink into the minds of the people following the trial before continuing: "If Magneto didn't intervene, Admiral, what do you think the outcome of the battle would have been?"

"There would only have been one outcome, madame," Admiral Suvurov said. "The nuclear strike would have been launched regardless of whether our troops held off Cortez and Rossovich."

Evangeline asked her next question carefully: "Is it possible then that Magneto's intervention may have prevented a greater crisis?"

The naval officer considered the question and then answered: "He may very well have done that."

"What happened to the mutants who survived Magneto's attack?" Evangeline wanted to know.

"They fled," the admiral told her. "Magneto warned them not to conduct any more attacks or terrorist activities. Otherwise, they would face the consequences."

"What happened to Fabian Cortez and Arkady Rossovich, sir?"

"Their bodies were taken into custody by the KGB, according to intelligence reports."

"Do you consider Magneto as an enemy after witnessing his actions during that battle, Admiral?" Evangeline asked.

Again, Admiral Suvurov considered Evangeline's question. Magneto _did_ take matters into his own hands and _did _violate his nation's sovereignty. However, even he was pragmatic enough to know that Russia had done the same in the past. General Krimov's beloved Ukraine was once part of the old Soviet Union. So was General Stormavik's own homeland, Bulgaria. How could he rightfully condemn a man for a crime that his own government had committed?

Very carefully, the naval commanding officer said: "For what he did, he has my respect. I saw for myself why he is feared by the world. But by saving our troops and preventing Cortez and Rossovich from attaining their objective, I hold no rancor against him."

Evangeline nodded. "Thank you very much, Admiral Suvurov. Your Honor, I would like to—"

Dr. Shaw spoke up, cutting off whatever she was about to say. "I have a question or two, if I may, Your Honor."

"The court recognizes Dr. Sebastian Shaw," Judge Chalmers said. "Make it brief, please."

Dr. Shaw rose from his seat and asked: "Admiral, what happened to the research facility after Magneto stopped the nuclear strike from taking place?"

Evangeline tensed but regained control of herself quickly. She knew that this matter would be brought up eventually; Dr. Shaw's question wasn't entirely unexpected.

"Magneto destroyed the facility, sir," Admiral Suvurov replied.

"Destroyed it, did he?" Dr. Shaw pretended to ponder the naval officer's answer. In reality, he was taking his time to let that statement do damage to Magneto's defense. "What happened to the people inside?" he asked after several moments.

"Magneto gave them time to evacuate before he destroyed the facility," the admiral said.

"Did he now? Well, that's very noble of him," Dr. Shaw said with a harsh, mocking laugh. "Weren't your troops able to stop him?"

"Unfortunately, we weren't prepared to deal with Magneto at the time," the naval officer admitted frankly. "Even with additional forces sent in by Generals Krimov and Stormavik, I doubt if we would have been able to stop him."

"A pity," Dr. Shaw remarked acidly. "Thank you, Admiral."

"I'd like to ask the admiral a question or two myself, if you'll allow me, Your Honor," Dr. Windsor said.

From where he sat, Magneto watched the proceedings with growing interest. It appeared the representatives were intent on making their own points of view known during the trial.

"The court recognizes Dr. Robert Windsor," the presiding justice said. "Make your questions brief as well, Dr. Windsor."

The Secretary for Mutant Affairs nodded. He rose from his seat, just as Dr. Shaw did. "Admiral Suvurov, did Mr. Lehnsherr, ah, Magneto, I mean, give any reason for destroying the facility?"

"He did, sir," Admiral Suvurov said. "He stated over our communications network that while he did not approve of the actions undertaken by Cortez and Rossovich in his name, he did not approve of a facility dedicated to the creation of weaponry that would be used against mutantkind, either. He said the existence of such facilities was as much an abomination as the existence of Cortez, Rossovich, and their ilk."

"Ah. And would you agree with that, Admiral?" Dr. Windsor wanted to know.

"Sir, as I said, the facility's purpose was to develop weapons that could be used to prevent the occurrence of an incident similar to that which took place in San Francisco," Admiral Suvurov said.

"But such weapons could be used against mutantkind in general, am I correct?"

Admiral Suvurov nodded. "Yes. I believe so, sir."

"That answers my questions. Thank you, Admiral Suvurov," Dr. Windsor said. "Sorry for keeping you."

"You are most welcome, sir." Judge Chalmers thanked the admiral for his testimony and then the communications link was cut. "All right—we'll have a recess for lunch. We will resume at one-thirty in the afternoon." With a single rap of his gavel, the presiding justice stood and left the bench. The representatives got up and began to mill together, discussing the first witness' testimony.

"Well, that didn't turn out so badly," Magneto told Evangeline as they were being escorted to out of the courtroom. During long breaks, he was supposed to be returned to his cell under heavy guard, as agreed upon by the DMA and Homeland Security. He would have to eat in his cell but was allowed to have his family with him.

"Mr. Lehnsherr!" Magneto glanced over to his right to see who was calling him and saw that it was Rogue. She was flanked by two men—most likely security personnel from either the DMA or the FBI.

"Well, Rogue—it's good to see you again," he said to her with sincere pleasure. "I trust you're being treated well?"

"Yes, sir," Rogue said. From the tone of Magneto's voice, Rogue thought, it was almost as if he was oblivious to the presence of the fully-armed men and women surrounding him. "I just wanted you to know that I think you held up well in there even though the prosecutor and that Dr. Shaw were trying to stick a knife in you."

"I think that's something that we can count on them to do, Rogue," Magneto said in a somewhat apologetic tone, like a host mollifying a guest who was disappointed with his party. "And Mr. Fortune is being paid to do it."

"They're still being harsh, if you ask me," Rogue said.

"It's expected." Magneto turned towards Evangeline. "Ms. Whedon, I'd like you to meet Rogue—she was arrested along with me and brought here."

"Hello," Rogue said, shaking hands with the young attorney. "You did pretty well in there, ma'am."

"Thank you, Rogue," Evangeline said, "but the trial's just started. I'm sure Mr. Fortune still has plenty of aces up his sleeves."

"That's true," Rogue conceded. "But I think you'll be able to handle him."

"I hope so, Rogue. Evangeline was about to ask her if the other X-Men would be attending the trial but someone caught her attention.

"Sorry I was late, boss," Marie D'Ancanto said, walking up to Evangeline with a couple of thick folders under her arm. "I had a little trouble getting here. Good thing the meter on the cab didn't run so high."

"I'll reimburse you for it when we get back to the office, Marie," Evangeline said. "Are those the other files you said we might be able to use?"

"I think so, boss," Marie said. "Maybe we can look it over while we have lunch or something?"

"I guess we could," Evangeline said. "Would it be all right, Mr. Lehnsherr?"

"Of course, Evangeline," Magneto said. "I'll have company anyway." The elevator doors slid open.

"Everyone inside," one of the DMA security troops said.

"Hang in there, Mr. Lehnsherr," Rogue told Magneto as he stepped aboard the elevator, flanked by eight security escorts. "You're going to win this one."

_Don't worry about me, Anne Marie,_ she heard Magneto tell her in her head. He stood in the back of the elevator, seemingly unperturbed by the people carrying weapons that were meant to stop him from taking flight. _Do take care of yourself and I'll see you back in the courtroom later._

Rogue was a bit surprised; she didn't know that Magneto could communicate telepathically. _All right, Mr. Lehnsherr, _she replied. _Thank you._

The doors shut Magneto from view. His family was in the other elevator. Rogue watched the car ascend for a while and then turned towards her companions.

"Come on," she told them. "I guess it's the cafeteria for us."

"_**And so far, the combined forces of the police and the FBI have managed to contain the violence within the general area of M-Town. However, their efforts to stop the ongoing conflict have met with little success."**_

"_**Thank you, Daniel. That was Daniel Bell, reporting live from M-Town. As the fighting that began in M-Town this morning rages unabated, Governor Spitzer has authorized the full deployment of the New York Guard to provide support for the beleaguered police units and FBI teams."**_

"You haven't eaten a bite, Tony."

Tony Stark looked up from his portable media device and saw Dr. McCoy looking at him with an expression of mild concern.

"I guess I wasn't that hungry, Hank," Stark said, pushing his plate of barely-touched food away from him. He did, however, keep his cup of coffee.

"Tony, this trial isn't going to be over in a day," Dr. McCoy chided him. "Don't you think you need to keep up your strength? I admit that the food here could stand some improvement but you have to eat a little."

"I know, Hank," Stark told his friend, sipping from his cup. "It's just that the news from the city…I really think I should already send in the Vault Strike Teams to help out."

"If I heard correctly, the governor is already taking steps towards extending assistance to the police and the FBI," Dr. McCoy said. "Keep your Vault Guardsmen on standby but don't involve them yet. And don't let yourself get distracted—remember, we have a role to play in this trial as well, you know."

"Dr. McCoy has a point," Maria Hill interjected. "Even though we're alternate representatives, we may still be called upon to deliberate upon the facts of the case, Mr. Stark. SHIELD is on standby; the minute I get word from President Cockrum, I'll deploy my personnel."

"With all due respect, Commander Hill," Stark said, "there's more to the trouble in the city than what it seems to be."

"What do you mean by that, Mr. Stark?" SHIELD's executive director asked.

"What I mean is that the fighting going on there…it's not just about Magneto's trial," Stark explained. "We may be seeing something that might very well trigger a much larger crisis for all metahumans, not just mutants."

"Would you care to elaborate on that, Tony?" Dr. McCoy asked, sitting down at Stark's table. This was something that he hadn't seen since his attention was focused entirely on what bearing the trial would have on mutantkind. Tony was apparently looking beyond the present—something that was, he admitted, to be expected of him. As the founder of Stark Industries, he was constantly looking to the future, to the edge, which is where he wanted to take his company and the world in general.

Stark put his cup down and looked at the table, as if gathering his thoughts. Maria Hill took the other vacant chair. She wanted to hear what Stark had to say; somehow, she had a feeling it would involve SHIELD.

Stark looked up, took a deep breath, and then spoke carefully. "All the fighting going on in M-Town…all the damage it will cause…there's going to be many casualties—not just mutants but humans as well. And even in an area that's generally tolerant of mutants, how much more can the human residents take? How much more losses can they accept in the course of living with their mutant neighbors?"

"Tony, from what we know, the residents of M-Town have been through a lot of tragedies together—" Dr. McCoy was saying but Stark shook his head and cut him off.

"All right, Hank—let's put M-Town aside," he conceded. "But even you have to admit that there will come a time when one or more metahumans—not necessarily mutants—will cause a catastrophe that the public won't accept, even with the best of intentions behind it. When that happens, I very much doubt if the government will hesitate to make an example of someone, _anyone_ among the metahuman population to appease the public's outrage. It maybe mutants or someone else like, say Spider-Man or the Richardses or Daredevil."

"Surely you're not saying that the government would simply take away metahumans' civil liberties just to prevent such a tragedy from taking place, are you, Tony?" Dr. McCoy asked incredulously.

"No…of course not," Stark replied. "That would be too persecutory and it might even incite a rebellion among the metahuman community. What I predict the government will do is create legislation limiting or restricting metahumans' use of their abilities. Perhaps, Congress might even propose a law that will only allow metahumans to use their abilities under government control."

"You mean in the same manner that SHIELD has metahumans working for it, Mr. Stark?" Commander Hill asked.

"Yes, something like that," Stark said, nodding. "This isn't a case of _if_ it will happen. I believe it's only a matter of time until it does happen."

"You're saying that the government might very well put forth a law similar to the Mutant Control and Mutant Registration Acts?" Dr. McCoy said.

"Yes, Hank," Stark said, steel in his voice. "Except this time, it will be a total Metahuman Registration or Control Act."

"And what are your thoughts on such a possibility, Mr. Stark?" SHIELD's executive director wanted to know.

"To be honest…I'm not quite sure how I'd react to such a law," Stark admitted. "I'd be against it, I suppose, since the metahuman community in general has proven to be trustworthy and above-board in preventing disasters created by other metahumans. And yet…"

Dr. McCoy's eyes narrowed suspiciously: "And yet what?"

"I've always dreamt of a single governing body that all metahumans could answer to, Hank—you know that," Stark said. "It's my belief that the world at large could benefit greatly if every metahuman could cooperate and collectively work to safeguard the world against the threats it faces, whether brought about by metahuman forces or not."

"I know that, Tony," Dr. McCoy said. "My only fear is that not every one of us would agree to be governed by such a body—or agree to be governed, period. We X-men, for example, are seen as regarded as outcasts by the world at large. Spider-Man and Daredevil are viewed as vigilantes by the mainstream media, even though the people think of them as heroes."

"That's exactly why I still want to pursue the possibility of creating that one governing body, Hank," Stark argued. "Between you and me, old friend, we've worked together and with several individuals whose personalities are opposites of our own. And surely, in your time at Professor Xavier's school, you've had to deal with students who don't exactly agree with your norms or those set by Professor Xavier."

"That is true," Dr. McCoy conceded. "I've experienced the difficulties that you've pointed out. But creating more rigid strictures has never been an effective solution to those difficulties, Tony."

"In SHIELD's case, we don't force metahumans to work for us unless it suits the greater good," Commander Hill added. "And even then we don't forcibly recruit them."

"Point taken," Stark said. He settled back into his chair. "I've discussed the matter with Reed Richards previously. He's not too sure himself how such a development would affect him and his family. But he does see the need to find a way to prevent the escalation of collateral damage from any incidents involving metahumans."

"That's been a challenge that SHIELD has been facing for decades now," Commander Hill remarked. She looked at her watch. "I think I'll make a few calls to SHIELD Headquarters. If you'll excuse me, gentlemen, I'll leave you for now." She stood up and left the representatives' chambers.

"Tony, are you serious about what you just told me?" Dr. McCoy asked after Maria Hill's departure.

"Perfectly serious, Hank," Stark answered. "If and when the time comes, I think it would be better if we could participate in the legislative process so that we can ensure that it has minimal negative impact on the metahuman community. We might even find a way to prevent any future tragedies."

"You mean if such a law is proposed, you'd consider supporting it?"

"If necessary, old friend—but I would do so only to prevent the metahuman community from becoming scapegoats or anything worse than that from happening."

"What do you think would be worse than metahumans becoming scapegoats for catastrophes not of their making?"

"Imagine what would happen if such a law were indeed passed," Stark said. "I'm afraid it would split the metahuman community apart. Those who support the law would be pitted against those who are against it." Stark frowned grimly. "That's something I wouldn't want to happen, Hank."

Dr. McCoy considered the possibility and found it unimaginable. "My word, Tony—that would be nothing less than—"

"A civil war," Stark declared flatly, finishing his friend's statement for him.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter Six**

Black Box yawned as he read the command that flashed across the monitor in front of him. It was the launch order for the Sentinels. He keyed in the appropriate code, counted off the number of Sentinels requires, and then cleared them for launch. All that was accomplished without losing track of the online chess games he was playing. _I wish they'd given me something more challenging to do,_ he thought. But then again, he reminded himself, the money was nice: full pay for halftime work. He couldn't believe the good fortune that wound up in his lap. After all his work was done, he intended to take a long vacation, perhaps in the Caribbean.

In between playing chess and watching the Sentinel command console, he checked on the news from time to time. Magneto's trial was coming along on schedule, despite all the trouble in the city. Black Box was grateful once more that he was assigned to the Bastion; violence was something he normally abhorred in his activities. Although he freely admitted to being an outlaw, he took pride in using his mind to carry out his schemes. Wanton destruction just wasn't his style.

His headset chimed softly. "Yes?" he said breezily. He moved his rook and succeeded in stymieing one of his online opponents. He turned his attention to the three other boards; Board Two, in particular, was still under contention. The person at the other end of the connection was rather stubborn.

"Have you launched the Sentinel squad, Mr. Bashur?" Dr. Shaw asked him.

"Yes, Dr. Shaw," Black Box told his employer. "Four units deployed to the designated target area. They should be there in approximately five minutes, assuming that no flight corridor has been cleared for them by the FAA."

"All right," Dr. Shaw said. "Monitor their performance, Mr. Bashur. I want to know if the money we poured into those things was worth it."

Black Box consulted the screen that showed the current status of each Sentinel he deployed. He punched up a real-time audiovisual link. "All's well, doctor," he commented. "The units are performing up to spec. I trust that the Department of Homeland Security will enjoy seeing their robots in action."

Dr. Shaw made a sound of contempt in the back of his throat. "They should be, considering what it cost to build those things. Excellent work, Mr. Bashur. Do keep me informed."

"Of course, sir. I'll let you know when they reach the target area." Dr. Shaw signed off and Black Box returned to his game. He saw a flaw in his opponents' defenses in Board Two and Board One. Board Three was already resigned. He moved his pieces accordingly and was gratified to see his remaining foes surrender. All in all, it was a good day. He wondered why not every day went just as well.

"This is all crazy, Captain!"

Enrico Hernandez looked at Joey Magruder, his second-in-command. Their SWAT team had been among those deployed into M-Town to deal with what was initially thought to be a riot gone out of control. As it turned out, the situation was much worse: the riot, if there was one, had become all-out warfare between rival factions out to control all of M-Town. Now Hernandez, Magruder, and the other SWAT units deployed into the area were caught in the middle of hostilities that were approaching a magnitude closer to a war zone than an urban area.

"I hear you, Sarge," Hernandez said. "This isn't what I had in mind when they sent us here."

Magruder reloaded his submachine-gun. "Where's our backup? Where's the Guard?"

"I was hoping you could tell me that." A fist-sized metal fragment winged uncomfortably close to Hernandez's head. He calculated its point of origin and fired back with his rifle. Authorization to use deadly force was approved half an hour into the team's mission and he was glad for it. Normally, he preferred to negotiate but there was obviously no point doing that.

"All I heard was that they were on their way," Magruder said, sending a short burst of gunfire in the same direction as his captain was shooting. "The chief's been quiet since then."

"Looks like we're on our own," Hernandez said. "All right, listen up—"

"Whoa! Heads up, Cap!" Magruder yelled. Hernandez saw a bashed-up pickup truck sailing through the air in their direction. Before it could do any harm, however, a bolt of ice came surging towards it and froze it. Then it cracked into microscopic pieces, making it no more harmful than a rainshower.

"Who was—" Magruder was about to ask when two men came running up to them. "Are you all right, sir?" David Caine asked.

"Did you do that?" Hernandez wanted to know.

"No, sir," David replied. "That was Breakpoint here and Temper up there." Hernandez looked up to see a figure surrounded by a bluish-white and reddish-yellow aura fly towards the rooftop across the street from them. A small explosion, followed by more ice crystals falling down onto the men below occurred, then the figure responsible for it descended onto the sidewalk. The aura surrounding it disappeared to reveal a young Asian woman.

"The rooftop is secure now, Danger Zone," Michiko Yoshida told him. "The men have been...neutralized."

"Uh, thanks...Temper, right?" Hernandez said. Michiko nodded and bowed slightly. "You are quite welcome, captain."

Magruder asked: "Who are you guys? Are you with the FBI or something?"

"Nope. We were just in the neighborhood and saw you guys needed help," Evan "Breakpoint" Daniels said. "We were going to visit some friends when this mess broke out. What's going on?"

"From what we can tell," Hernandez said, "it's a gang war. From the looks of things, we've got mutants against humans, mutants against mutants, and humans against humans."

"How bad is it?" David asked, although he had a feeling he knew what the answer would be.

"It's not bad," Magruder replied. "It's worse and moving up towards worst. The State Guard is here but they're not doing any better. The National Guard is supposed to be on its way but we haven't gotten any word as to when they'll get here."

Evan looked at the destruction around them. "How long has it been going on?"

"We've been here an hour and it was already like this," Hernandez said. "Some of the other SWAT teams already pulled out because of casualties. I've got three men wounded but still capable of fighting but we're running short on ammo."

"Do you have a fallback position?" David wanted to know.

Hernandez nodded. "This is Fallback Position Bravo. I don't know how long it can hold, though, to be honest."

"And the next fallback position will be your last stand, am I correct?" Michiko asked.

"Yes, ma'am," Hernandez admitted frankly.

David considered the options available at that point. He and his two companions were intent on reaching the center of M-Town where they knew the central safe house for all mutants in the area stood. He suspected that it was already under siege and knew that Max and Zack, for all their skill in combat, would need assistance.

"Captain, if I might make a suggestion," he finally said, "perhaps you and your men had better withdraw to Fallback Position Alpha and concentrate on containment. With all due respect, I doubt if the other units with you here can continue to fight."

Hernandez thought about it and quickly realized that David was right. His SWAT team might be able to hold on for a while longer but they would eventually be overwhelmed. "All right," he said. "I'll try to contact the other SWAT teams and the State Guard units." Magruder immediately got on his radio and began to call out to the other Guard and police units in their area.

"I think help will be arriving soon," Evan said, monitoring his own communicator. "The Air Guard has been scrambled."

"Thank God," Magruder said. "We could sure use some medevac."

David nodded at his two companions. "Come on—let's go."

"Where are you going?" Hernandez asked concernedly.

"We have to check on our friends, captain," Michiko said. "They're sure to be right in the thick of this trouble."

"Hold on—you want us to withdraw but you're going in?" Magruder asked.

"Yeah," Evan said. "We'll see you when we get back." Michiko released her auras and took to the air. Evan ran after her. David saluted both Hernandez and Magruder and told them: "Good luck, gentlemen. Hope we do see you after this mess is over." Then he left them to catch up with his two friends.

"This is getting boring." Erick Gessler tossed aside the Morlock body that was previously alive in the grip of his hand until he broke its neck. He stopped and wiped sweat off his forehead, being careful not to trigger the chain gun in his left arm. "I say we go get a beer already."

"Yeah," Matthew Corley seconded as he adjusted the circular saws that were attached to his arms and shoulders. "There's nothing left here to kill."

"Not until Bonetti says so," Armand Kashika said. Bonetti was Bonebreaker, one of the squad commanders for the Reavers, a group of combat-trained and –engineered cyborgs created by Dr. Innocenta as her private army. They were her first successful projects in the field of cybernetics and living proof that her theory that an amalgamation of man and machine was possible. The best among them—Bonebreaker, Stone Cold, Mayhem, Raze, Skullbuster, Mummer, and Cell—became her command staff. The Lady Oyama, of course, took her place at Dr. Innocenta's right hand when she defeated them all in single combat.

"Come on," Lex Martinson said. "He probably knocked off already." He had blood all over him. It was a natural consequence of his penchant for wanting to get down and dirty with his targets.

"I said we'll wait until—" Kashika said but stopped when something stepped out of the shadows surrounding them. Their visual scanners immediately focused on it and the cyborgs saw that it was a woman. She was dressed in street clothes and had short, shocking-pink hair.

"Hey, cutie," Lex Martinson said to her. There was a leer on his face that was supposed to pass for a charming, lady-killer smile. "What's a girl like you doing in a place like this?" He gave her a visual groping, taking in her trim, athletic body and attractive face.

"Looking for you, handsome," the woman said, smiling invitingly.

"Yeah?" Martinson threw his comrades a smug smirk. "Well, here I am, baby." He stepped closer to her.

"Oh, yeah, here you are." The woman touched his face tenderly and traced a finger down to his lips…then to his neck. "Here you are, she said again, extending a shard of bone from her finger, piercing Martinsons' neck. He fell to his knees, a look of disbelief on his face. Marrow kicked him aside.

"She's a mutant!" Kashika declared. Matt Corley charged, his saw blades spinning and slashing. Marrow easily evaded them and slit his throat in mid-air, finishing him off with a handful of bone spikes to his lower back. Only Kashika and Gessler remained. Gessler was about to let fly with his chain guns but something grabbed onto him. Kashika was thrown off-balance by several small detonations around him. He yelled into his headset: "Mayday, mayday! This is Squad Nine, we have confirmed hostile contact! Need backup—!" An unconscious Gessler fell from nowhere beside him. Kashika whirled around and disappeared as well. Another series of detonations followed. When Kashika reappeared, his inert form landed next to Gessler's.

"You can teleport, I see," Marrow observed.

"Yes," Nightcrawler said. "It's part of my talents, madame."

"Is it now?" Marrow looked slightly impressed. "That was an interesting tactic you used. Does that happen to anyone you teleport with?"

"Well, to be honest, madame," Nightcrawler said, "I myself am not completely immune to the effects of my teleportation. However, through my training at Professor Xavier's school, I have increased my endurance. Unfortunately…not everyone shares that attribute." He looked down at the two cyborgs. He saw a small blinking light on the headsets they wore. He removed the one on Gessler and risked taking a look at it. It was a highly miniaturized telecommunications system that had a built-in video camera.

"I think we should be expecting company pretty soon, madame," Nightcrawler said calmly. "Their comrades-in-arms may have received their distress call."

"So what do you think we should do?" Marrow asked.

"Let's find any other survivors before we run into any more trouble," Nightcrawler suggested.

"Agreed," Marrow said. They dropped back into the nearest tunnel to resume their search.

"Ah, I see. All right. Thank you, Mr. Bashur." Dr. Innocenta signed off and spoke to the Lady Oyama and her staff: "The Sentinels are here but on standby status. I suppose it's time we left. We've harvested enough raw materials."

"Shall I begin takeoff procedures?" Cell asked.

"Yes, go ahead," Dr. Innocenta told her. Cell and Mummer went to the transport aircraft hidden in the building that the cyberneticist had chosen as her base of operations in M-Town. They were usually the pilots in charge during missions, although they also had their fair share of experience leading the other cyborg teams into battle.

"Hold on, doctor," Robin Holder said. She was the one assigned to monitor and coordinate their communications network. Wordlessly, she tapped a command into her keyboard and called up the video feeds from Squad Nine.

"What's wrong?" Stone Cold wanted to know.

"Squad Nine have gone offline," Holder reported. "Their audio and video feeds are open but there's no response from any of them." Fortunately, the cameras used by all the squads had recording functions. Holder called up their last feeds. The Lady Oyama and the Reaver commanders gathered around the monitors, watching the deaths of their subordinates silently. Finally, Bonebreaker spoke: "Looks like not all the hostiles were taken care of down there."

"That mutant—the one who attacked Kashika and Gessler," Lady Oyama said. "That was one of the mutants who used to work for Colonel Stryker. He's with Xavier's mutants now."

Dr. Innocenta went over to view the recordings herself. "Interesting…if he's here, then his other teammates shouldn't be so far off."

"Logan is already here," Lady Oyama said. "He's down in the tunnels."

"How do you know that?" Mayhem asked. "None of the squads has spotted him."

"He's down there," Lady Oyama repeated, staring at the video feed of the empty tunnel. "I can sense the death that he brings with him."

Dr. Innocenta mulled the information before her for a few moments and then said: "Have the squads remaining inside the tunnels converge at Squad Nine's location. Lady Oyama, I expect that you can help them find Logan and his team?"

"Of course," Lady Oyama told her.

"Have Cell and Mummer stand by," Dr. Innocenta said to Stone Cold. "The Lady Oyama and I shall return momentarily." She put on her battle armor.

"You're going back down there?" Stone Cold asked.

"Yes, Mr. Cole," Dr. Innocenta replied. "There are some modifications I'd like to test since the opportunity to do so is now here." She nodded towards the Lady Oyama. "Shall we go?"

"As you wish, doctor," Lady Oyama said, bowing slightly. She led Dr. Innocenta out of the command center and down to the access point into the tunnels.

"_Wolverine, this is Nightcrawler—do you read?"_

Wolverine halted his team. They were already in another part of the tunnels that was leading them towards the safe area where Nightcrawler had left one of his miniature emergency beacons. He took out his communicator. "Loud and clear," he said. He signaled to Kitty to check his location. Kitty saw that he was using his other transmitter. The one he left with Fox was still broadcasting.

"_We ran into some cyborgs—"_ Nightcrawler began but Wolverine cut him off: "Why aren't you with the Morlocks, Kurt?"

"_I'm with Marrow—she's their leader," _Nightcrawler explained. _"We're looking for any other survivors in the tunnels but we haven't found any yet. We ran into a group of cyborgs but we took care of them."_

"Nice going, Kurt," Wolverine said with pride and approval in his voice. He and Nightcrawler did more than their fair share of sparring at the school and, from what he'd just heard, the results were more than positive. Nightcrawler was a superb fighter in his own right who'd incorporated his abilities fully into his tactics. More than once, he'd caught Wolverine by surprise using his agility and teleportation while they were practicing.

"_Danke,"_ Night crawler said. _"However, I fear that more cyborgs may me making their way into the tunnels to hunt us down. Are you with the Morlocks already?"_

"We're close," Wolverine said after consulting Kitty regarding their proximity to the Morlocks. "We'll be there in ten minutes max."

"_All right," _Nightcrawler said. _"Get them out as soon as you can, Wolverine. Some of them are in urgent need of medical attention. I did what I could to help keep them alive."_

"Roger that," Wolverine said. "We're on our way. Keep in touch." He kept his communicator and looked at Bobby, Kitty, and Laura. "More trouble on the way. Let's double-time this."

"What kind of trouble?" Bobby asked as he ran alongside Wolverine.

"Cyborgs," Wolverine replied. "Kurt says he and a Morlock wiped out a squad but there are more coming in real fast and they won't be happy to know that some of their buddies are scrap. We've got to get the survivors out of here."

Laura picked up the pace and began turning corners without looking back. Nobody protested, though; they all knew that she was simply doing what Wolverine said they should do. And the best way for them to accomplish an evacuation was to get to the people who were in need of evacuation immediately.

They reached their destination in half the time that Wolverine had estimated. Laura undid the lock and went into the darkened antechamber leading into the shelter. Almost immediately, there was a challenge: "Who's there?"

"It's me," Laura spoke.

An apparition of smoke, mist, and cold materialized before her and was quickly joined by others that surrounded Laura and her companions. One of the apparitions spoke: _"Shiraku, is it? Yes?"_

Laura nodded. "Yes."

"What's going on, Logan?" Kitty asked timidly, eyeing the apparitions floating around them fearfully. She reached for Bobby's hand, found it, and grasped it tight. Bobby squeezed her hand reassuringly.

One of the apparitions hovered close to Bobby's face—much too close for his liking. Another one stared at Kitty.

"_You have many secrets inside you…many secrets, indeed," _the apparition in front of Bobby said, licking its lips with a long, wolfish tongue.

"_And this one, as well…" _added the apparition in front of Kitty. It extended thin, bony fingers and touched her cheek. Kitty felt something like blades of ice pressing against her skin. _"Secrets can kill, you know…"_

"Let us pass," Laura said.

The apparitions looked at each other, speaking and sniggering among themselves. Then they disappeared. Laura stepped forward and opened the door to the shelter. The minute they were inside, a young woman approached them. Kitty took note of her Gothic-style attire and wondered if she had anything to do with the apparitions that had blocked their way.

"Well, well, Shiraku," she addressed Laura. "Welcome back. Where are your two friends?"

"At the school," Laura replied.

"So you're an X-Man now? Congratulations." Wicked laughed and Wolverine detected an edge of sarcasm in her voice. Fox stood up and went over to them. "Are you Kurt Wagner's friends?" she asked.

"Yeah," Wolverine replied. "That's us. How many of you are there?"

"Less than thirty," the young woman said. "I'm Fox, by the way. We're with Danger Zone." She gestured for her teammates to come closer. "We work for the Mutant Underground."

"I'm Phase," Jesse Kilmartin said. "This is Stun Gun and Flash Bang."

"Pleased to meet you," Wolverine said. "Now how do we get the Morlocks to safety?"

"If we can get them to where we have a transport waiting to take us to the Mutant Underground," Jesse said, "then they'll be safe."

Wolverine nodded. "Let's get them moving, then. Who's the Morlock in charge?"

"That would be me," Wicked said. "My name is Wicked. I'll get those who aren't wounded to help those who are."

"Are there any dead?" Wolverine wanted to know.

"Yes," Wicked replied. "But don't worry about them. They're with me."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Bobby asked.

"Only that their bodies have been left behind," Wicked said. "But the best part of them live on." She went over to the Morlocks and spoke gently but quickly. Soon, they began to gather whatever possessions they had; some helped carry the wounded. Wicked had them ready to go in a matter of minutes. She did a silent headcount and then declared: "Let's get out of here. Marrow can find us later." As the Morlocks left the shelter, Jesse went ahead to scout the way while Lexa—Flash Bang—took the lead, emitting a soft light from her hand to guide their way. Brendan, Fox, Laura, and Wolverine stayed on the group's flank. Wicked brought up the rear with Bobby and Kitty.

"Nightcrawler said that he was with a Morlock named Marrow," Kitty told wicked after a while.

"Marrow is our leader," Wicked said. "She was going to look for other survivors and your friend insisted on coming along."

"Well, he'll have her back, that's for sure," Bobby commented. "Nightcrawler's real good when it comes to fighting."

"Is he?" Wicked contemplated that fact. "I hope he is. Marrow won't like having to take up the slack for him if he fails."

"He won't," Kitty said simply. Wolverine called her and she ran over to him.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Go up front," Wolverine said. "Tell the girl with the light-up hand that you're going to switch with that Phase guy." Then he told Laura: "Fall back to the rear and take Kitty's place." Laura nodded and dropped back. Kitty went up to Lexa. "Hi," she greeted her. "Wolverine told me to take Phase's place. Where is he?"

"Hello. Hang on a moment." Lexa spoke into her headset: "Phase, where are you?"

"Fifteen meters ahead of you," Jesse replied. "Things are all clear so far."

"Stay there," Lexa told him. "One of the X-Men will be switching with you for a while."

"Okay," Jesse said. "But can she find me?"

"He wants to know if you can find him," Lexa asked.

"Can you show me his location?" Kitty asked, taking out her palmtop.

Lexa activated the VR function of her wrist PC. It showed a three-dimensional map of the tunnels. "He's over there." She pointed at a small, pulsing dot. "We're over here." She pointed to their current location.

"Okay, I've got it." Kitty stowed her palmtop.

"Is she coming or not?" Jesse spoke over Lexa's headset.

"Tell him to give me two minutes," Kitty told Lexa. Then she ran right into the wall ahead of them and passed through it. Lexa smiled. She knew that the X-Men were supposed to be all kinds of impressive and it seemed that the assessment was correct.

"She's on her way, Phase," Lexa told Jesse. "Give her a minute or two."

Lady Yuriko Oyama knelt in front of Kashika's corpse, ran her fingers through the blood pooled around it, and then looked up. Beside her, Dr. Innocenta stared at the other cyborgs. Whoever had destroyed them was indeed an individual worthy of her note. Although Kashika, Gessler, and the rest of their squad were far from being as good as her command staff, they were no slouches, either. They were heavily armed, for one thing. They also had a predilection for violence. To have been finished off in such a way was hardly to be expected.

"It wasn't him," Lady Oyama said, standing up.

"So he isn't here anymore?" Dr. Innocenta asked conversationally.

"He's still here," Lady Oyama replied. Just then, a cyborg approached them. "The adjustments to the sensors have been made, Madame Doctor," he reported. "I'm receiving data from the command post now."

"Very good, Ahab," Dr. Innocenta said with a smile. "Find me some of the survivors."

"Yes, Madame Doctor," Ahab replied. He turned to the other cyborgs gathered with him and called out: "Hounds!" Six of them came to him. He uploaded his data to them and then told them: "Find me those Morlocks—now!" The Hound Units hunkered down and stayed still, letting their sensors execute tracking programs and link with the command post's own network to have the benefit of additional information loads and sensory modifications.

"Primary target found," Hound Unit Alpha said. "Several auxiliary targets also found."

Ahab knelt beside the Hound and stroked its head. He allowed himself a touch of pride in his work. Ahab—Dr. Roderick Campbell was his real name—was perhaps one of Dr. Innocenta's greatest pupils. Like his mentor, Dr. Campbell wasn't above testing his own theories and discoveries first-hand. His body, like that of Dr. Innocenta, was heavily modified—especially the lower part of his left leg, which had been lost in an accident. Although he sometimes wore a cyberneticized peg leg, he wore a more human-like leg whenever he was out in the field. The Hound units were his creations. Instead of disposing of the failures in the laboratory, he asked Dr. Innocenta for permission to use them as material for supplementary research. Dr. Innocenta approved his request and was pleased with the results of his work. The Hound Units were indeed a triumph of science and proof that cybernetics could, to a surprising extent, halt the decay of the human mind and body. The Hounds weren't as capable of autonomous behavior as the rest of the cyborg squads but they performed their function—which was to hunt down their designated targets—without hesitation and without mercy.

"Lead us to them, my pets," Ahab told his Hounds. The Hounds let out a chilling howl and then fell silent as they made their way through the tunnels.

"What was that?" Nightcrawler stopped and cocked his head backwards. "Did you hear the same thing I did?"

Marrow didn't answer right away. Living with the Morlocks had inured her to what might be deemed by others as strange but that howl that resounded through the tunnels just now was something that she never heard before. She wondered if it might be a Morlock…_like Caliban? _she thought. Caliban was another mutant that Callisto rescued from being lynched by a mob of humans. When Marrow came to live under the streets, Caliban welcomed and befriended her. Together, the two of them became Callisto's best warriors in the fight to keep the Morlocks safe. Despite being so much stronger than Marrow, however, Caliban was actually shy and gentle. This offset Marrow's own brash and often antagonistic personality. When Callisto went aboveground, Caliban went off to search for her. Marrow never saw him again.

"Marrow…" Nightcrawler prodded her.

"I heard it," Marrow said. "I don't know what it was. But we'd better get moving in case it's not friendly."


	19. Chapter 19

Storm watched the bank of monitors in the main command center. Douglas Ramsey and Esperanza Ling were at the controls, making sure that she had a clear picture of the situation in and around the DMA as it progressed.

"Patch me through to the field teams, Douglas," she said. Douglas immediately activated the field communications link. Esperanza handed her the headset. Storm put it on and spoke: "Warren, this is Storm—where are you?"

"_I'm half a kilometer above the center of M-Town, Storm,"_ Warren reported. _"All the fighting aboveground seems to be moving here."_

"Stay away until Sean and the others arrive," Storm told him. Then she had Esperanza switch frequencies. "Nightcrawler? Storm here—report in, please." There was no answer. Douglas boosted the reception, trying to get the feed from Nightcrawler's communicator. Esperanza tried to pick up the sub-frequencies for the field link but got nothing as well.

"Kurt? Do you read?" Storm said.

After several tense moments, a response came: _"To all X-Men present in the tunnels, this is Madame Spiral. I have your comrade with the blue skin here and the leader of the Morlocks, along with several of her kind. If you want them alive, then I suggest that Wolverine meet me at the coordinates I am now uploading into your computers. Failure to do so will mean death for my prisoners." _A stream of code was uploaded into the command center's computer and a location was immediately displayed on the monitor. _"You have thirty minutes, Logan. That should be enough time for you. At thirty minutes and one second, I shall have my troops execute these genetic jokes."_ With that, the transmission ended.

"What are we going to do, Miss Munroe?" Esperanza asked.

Storm thought about it. She was certain that this was a trap for Wolverine; this Madame Spiral was someone from his past, it seemed. Finally, she spoke: "Wolverine, did you hear that?"

"_Yeah," _Wolverine replied. _"Doesn't look like we have much of a choice, Storm."_

"You're not seriously thinking of—" Storm began but Wolverine cut her off: _"If whoever this Madame Spiral is has Kurt and some Morlocks as her hostage, then they're going to die if I don't do something about it. And I intend to."_

"What about the other Morlocks that you're evacuating?" Storm wanted to know.

"_That's taken care of," _Wolverine said. _"They're on their way out of the tunnels."_

Storm tried to reason with him. "Logan, I insist on you staying with them. I can deploy another team to find Kurt—"

"_Negative," _Wolverine countermanded her curtly. _"I don't want us stretching our teams too thin. We may need every warm body we can get if something else happens while the trial is going on so I'm going alone and that's that. Are we clear on that?"_

"You're being foolish, Logan," Storm argued. "We work as a team, remember?"

"_Yeah—and sometimes you gotta take one for the team," _Wolverine told her in a surprisingly gentle tone of voice. _"Tell Zee and Sean that the others are coming out soon. Kitty will relay their coordinates."_

"Logan…" Storm wanted to keep trying to persuade him not to go but she knew he was right. His mind was made up and he was going to rescue Kurt all by himself, even if it meant getting himself killed.

"_I'll see you back at the school, Ororo,"_ Wolverine said. _"Over and out."_

Storm fought back the tears that were threatening to break out from inside her. Professor Xavier would've told her to stay strong, to trust in her teammates, and to trust in her own instincts as a leader. Her instincts told her that Wolverine was more than capable of fighting his way out of any trap but that didn't keep her from feeling afraid for him. Once more she felt the magnitude of the burden that the Professor must surely have felt whenever he was sending them out on a mission.

"Miss Munroe?" Douglas said hesitantly. "Do I call the others?"

Storm took a deep breath. Then she said in as calm a voice as possible: "Tell the Blackbird to prepare for evacuation support." To herself, she thought, _Good luck, Logan—and come back. Just come back alive._

Wolverine didn't even bother waiting for anyone to speak. He turned towards his team and Danger Zone's team and told them: "Make sure you get these people out of here. I'm going to get Kurt and the other Morlocks back."

"Logan, you've got to be kidding," Kitty protested. "You know that whoever that Madame Spiral is won't fight you fair for Mr. Wagner. She's probably got a small army with her."

"You got a better idea?" Wolverine wanted to know.

"Let us go with you," Bobby said. "I know we're not as good as you but you did train us. We can help…"

"No—your job is to get the Morlocks to safety," Wolverine said. "If that Spiral woman sends in more cyborgs, there's going to be a bloodbath."

"And that's what's going to happen if you go fight her!" Kitty said. She knew she was starting to cry but she ignored the tears. "She's going to kill you, Logan!"

"Not if I have anything to say about it," Wolverine said. He gestured at Kitty and Bobby and took them aside. "Look—these people have to be evacuated, no two ways about it. They're not safe here until the cyborgs leave. And if this is a shot at getting those creeps to leave, then I'm taking it."

"But you can't fight them alone," Kitty said.

"Yes, I can," Wolverine assured her with a lopsided smile. "This is me we're talking about." Then to Bobby, he said: "You get the Morlocks and Danger Zone's team out of here, you got me, Bobby? None of you try to follow me because I'll know if you do."

Bobby wanted to discuss the issue some more but knew that Wolverine's mind was made up; nothing he or anyone else said would be able to change it. "Right, Logan." Bobby said. "We'll get them out of here. I promise. And we won't leave without you."

Wolverine nodded. "Good. Now get out of here." He turned away and was about to leave but Wicked ran up to him. "What is it?" he asked impatiently.

Wicked simply looked him in the eye. After a few moments, she said: "You don't fear death, do you?"

"I have a healthy respect for it, if that's what you mean," Wolverine replied.

Wicked smiled at him—a small, curious smile: "Good hunting, X-Man. And thank you for your help. If Marrow is alive, she can still help you."

"I'll keep that in mind," Wolverine said. He took one last look at his team and told them to get moving. Then he ran down a side tunnel and disappeared around a bend.

"He's brave," Wicked commented as she rejoined Kitty and Bobby. "But then—those who know death as intimately as he does don't have reason to fear death." She went over to the Morlocks and got them on the move once more.

"Come on, Kitty," Bobby said. "We've got a job to do." He put an arm around her and squeezed her shoulder gently.

"I don't want him to die, Bobby," Kitty said brokenly.

"He won't," Bobby told her. "Hey, that's Logan. He's harder to kill than anything else in this world."

Kitty looked at him, an expression of hope brightening the misery on her face. "Yeah, he is tough to keep down, isn't he?" she joked a bit halfheartedly.

"Yeah, he is," Bobby said. He drew her to him and kissed her on the forehead. "Come on—let's get these Morlocks to safety." Kitty finally allowed him to lead her back to the group that was slowly making its way through another side tunnel.

"Damn it, Logan," Sean muttered to himself, "it's a trap you're getting into, lad." He wanted to get on the horn and contact Wolverine but he knew that the communicator would be shut until Wolverine either came back from rescuing Nightcrawler and the Morlocks—or it would stay shut permanently.

Zee banked the Blackbird as she piloted the aircraft towards the coordinates that Kitty had sent them. She shared Sean's frustration and wished that she was down in the tunnels to help Wolverine. However, she knew him well enough to know that he would much rather have her do what she was supposed to do aboveground while he went to meet the enemy with his cards close to his chest. That didn't make it any easier for her to keep from landing the Blackbird and then putting on her armor to join him in battle.

"He knows what he's doing, sir," she said. "He's a pro—don't worry about a thing."

"I know he is, lass," Sean said. "But that doesn't mean he's—" His reply was cut short by a transmission from Storm. _"Sean, this is Ororo—we've got trouble."_

"I know, Ororo my dear," Sean said. "Our Logan is off to fight the baddies on his own."

"_I mean we've got more trouble,"_ Storm corrected herself. _"Warren just decided to join the fighting at the heart of M-Town."_

"What? The lad's gone crazy!" Sean called up Warren's communicator. "Warren, this is Sean Cassidy—where are you, lad, repeat, where are you?"

"_I'm above M-Town but I'm heading down to street level, Mr. Cassidy,"_ Warren replied. _"There's a building here that's being attacked. There are people trying to defend it—I'm going to help them."_

"Hold on, lad—at least wait for us to arrive!" Sean told him. "We're just going to pick up some evacuees and then we can help those people!"

"_I'm afraid this can't wait, sir,"_ Warren said. _"The fighting is getting real heavy and those people are about to be outnumbered. They're not going to be able to hold out for much long."_

"Then get them inside the building and have them button down the place," Sean suggested. "We're close, lad—very close! Just hold on!"

"_I'm going in, Mr. Cassidy,"_ Warren said apologetically. _"I'll leave my beacon on so you can find me."_

Sean didn't like the sound of that. "Do we have a lock on Wolverine's team?" he asked Zee.

She checked her monitors. "Affirmative, sir. They're about a ten minutes away from where we are." She punched the Blackbird's throttles slightly. "Make that five minutes."

Sean unbuckled his safety belt. "Detour us, would you, lass? Take us as close as you can to where Warren is right now."

"You're joining him?" Zee wanted to know.

"Aye," Sean replied. "He'll get himself killed if he throws himself into the fray alone, don't you agree?"

Zee sighed. "I agree, Mr. Cassidy. I'll make the course correction now." She consulted the map displayed in front of her. "ETA is three minutes. Get your team ready."

Sean nodded. "Thank you, lass. This is turning out to be one hell of day, isn't it?"

"Hopefully, we can help stop it before it gets worse," Zee said. "Prepare for deployment, sir." She could see smoke up ahead. The rampaging mutant and non-mutant gangs were destroying everything within reach. A lot of people in M-Town were going to be without property—among other things—before order was restored in the area. She'd been in her share of wars but this was much too close for comfort. It looked as if somebody decided to teleport Iraq's Triangle Of Death to the America. She grimly noted the plumes of smoke rising from the burning buildings. _Escalation_, she remembered telling Storm and Wolverine. This didn't look like escalation to her anymore. It looked like extinction.

_Breathe, relax, and just move,_ Guerra told herself as she ducked underneath a lead pipe swung at her by some goon trying to enter Home. Before the goon could try hitting her again, she disabled him with a well-placed kick that snapped his head back. She deftly avoided another goon who was armed with a two-by-four this time and took him out of the fight by breaking his leg.

"Getting mean, aren't we?" Zack remarked, appearing beside her.

"So are they," Guerra said. "Fair is fair."

"Cut the chatter, you two," Flinn spoke up. "We've still got work to do." He tossed aside two goons that he'd constricted into unconsciousness.

"Aren't you going to eat them?" Zack joked. "That's what snakes are supposed to do, right?"

"Can it, Zack," Flinn replied with a smile. It was a running joke between them. Because of Flinn's serpent-derived abilities, Zack was forever ragging on him about eating the people he caught. Flinn, in return, ribbed Zack about digging holes in the ground and urinating on fire hydrants because of his canine-based skills. Then his voice turned serious. "Heads up—more company." A new batch of goons was coming towards Home.

"These idiots really don't know when to quit," Zack muttered. "Four each—that seems fair to me."

"Looks like Zapruder really wants to tear Home down," Guerra said.

"Like we're going to let him," Flinn said. He looked over his shoulder and saw some people marching out of Home's front door. Some were human; others were mutants. All of them were prepared to fight for M-Town. They formed a ragged line of defense. Zack noticed it and immediately reorganized them into a relatively better formation, making sure that the non-mutants had enough cover. The mutants who had offensive abilities immediately readied themselves to bear the brunt of the incoming assault.

"Where do I go, Zack?" Lori asked.

Zack seemed surprised to see her but then told her: "You go back inside and stay there until you're told to move." He was about to turn her around and push her back inside but Lori protested: "But, Zack—I want to help—!"

"Lori, go inside," Flinn told her firmly but without anger. "This is too dangerous."

"Flinn, I—" Lori tried to argue but Zack looked her in the eye and said in a half-whisper, "Lori—you aren't staying out here with us. Go back inside."

Lori pleaded: "Zack…"

"Momma Lynn will need someone to help her if she has to leave Home," Zack continued. "You understand?"

Lori let out a deep breath and nodded. She knew what Zack was saying. Even then, she was surprised when Zack gave her a hug. Then he said: "Go on—get back inside. We'll handle these guys."

"Be careful, Zack," Lori said. "All of you be careful, okay?"

Zack nodded. Lori returned to the relative safety of Home and Zack went back to the defensive line. Guerra looked at him, thinking of how much he'd changed since they first showed up at Home. Lori had somehow tamed the rage Zack directed towards the world at large—and at himself—and made him more responsive, more…well, for lack of a better word, _human_.

"All right, here we go!" Flinn roared. "Hold the line!" The goons surged forward.

"It's Kaufman's boys this time," Zack noted. "That means they must be stoned out of their minds."

"They won't get hurt easily," Guerra noted, "especially if Kaufman doped them up with Kick."

"I don't care if they get hurt or not," Zack said, "as long as they go down and stay down."

"We're about to find out," Flinn said as the first of the goons came within striking distance. Rocks came arcing through the air. Flinn batted some aside. Guerra easily danced out of their path. Zack dodged and threw some back with deadly results. The goons came within reach and bodies began to fly backwards. The first wave went down easily enough but the second wave waded into the fight with guns blazing. Flinn roared at the others to take cover. Guerra and Zack easily leaped behind the makeshift barricades set up to protect Home but Flinn took two hits as he dove in beside them. Zack noticed right away and told him to sit still while he called for their medic.

"No time, man," Flinn told him, grunting slightly as he examined his wounds. "I can still fight. And we've got to put those gunners out of commission."

"Not with those hits," Vital, one of Home's resident healers, told him. He knelt down and began to scan the extent of his injuries. Then Vital began to put his abilities to work, patching up the gunshots with a practiced ease.

"Okay, Guerra, come on," Zack said. They jumped over the barricades and returned to the fight. Several of their human neighbors gave them covering fire from behind the barricades. They engaged the gunmen swiftly and decisively, not wanting to leave anyone capable of using a firearm. Unfortunately, some of the gunmen were coming uncomfortably close to hitting them.

Zack narrowly dodged a load of buckshot. Then he used the gunman he was subduing to open fire on his own comrades. Normally, he would've refrained from doing so but the situation was kill-or-be-killed so he didn't think he had much choice in the matter. Guerra didn't seem to have much regret at terminating their enemies, either, and that made him feel a little better.

"Did we get them all?" Zack said after a while when he noticed that there wasn't anyone left to fight.

Guerra looked around. "They've taken cover—maybe to regroup and rearm for another attack. Or maybe they've given up."

"That'll be the day," remarked Lucid, another of the defenders. She scanned the street in front of them, carefully marking the positions where she estimated the next attack would come.

"Well, maybe that means—" a fourth defender—human this time—was saying when something came hurtling towards them. An explosion rocked the street, spraying concrete all around.

"What was that?" Zack wondered aloud. Beside him was the human defender that he'd fortunately taken with them when they ducked behind cover from the explosion.

"Mortar shell," Lucid replied, peering over the barricade. "Most likely a sixty-millimeter, judging from the impact crater it left behind."

"They've got a mortar?" the human defender asked. "I hope they only have one."

"Maybe they got it from one of the SWAT teams," Guerra observed. "But Phil's right—how do we take care of that thing?"

"Simple," Lucid said. "Let me do it." Without waiting for permission, she left the safety of the barricade and ran towards the mortar launcher's position. She danced out of the way of incoming fire with unconscious grace.

"Looks like she's going to make it," Zack said, peering through a loophole in the barricade.

"Yeah," Guerra agreed. "But then, what did you expect from—" Her words were cut short by a cry from Phil: "Luce! Incoming! Port side!" One of the goons apparently stole a grenade launcher from wherever they picked up the mortar launcher. The goon took careful aim and pulled the trigger. The shell whooshed upwards and then descended towards Lucid. Before it could hit her, however, something swooped down and grabbed her. The shell detonated below her harmlessly.

"My apologies for startling you," Warren told Lucid as he carried her in his arms.

"Who are you?" Lucid demanded.

"My name is Angel," Warren replied. "I'm with Professor Xavier's School For The Gifted. We've come here to see what we could do to stop the war down in the streets."

"Really?" Lucid didn't seem impressed. "Well, we could use the help. What say we attack while our enemies are distracted?"

Warren thought about it and then smiled. "I don't see why not." He angled down towards the goons, using his speed to evade their bursts of fire. Then he threw Lucid at them and followed a few moments later. He used gusts of air from his wings to prevent any bullets from hitting him—as well as to hit the goons with while he was fighting them hand-to-hand.

"You fight well, Angel," Lucid complimented him as they tore through the goons.

"Thank you," Warren said. "I was trained well, thankfully enough."

"Ah—it looks like my fellow defenders have chosen to join us." Lucid stepped out of the way as Zack slammed into a goon on her right, sending him into a nearby car. Another goon broke through the car's window head-first.

"You took your sweet time joining us," Lucid scolded Guerra.

"You nearly had your head blown off your neck," Guerra retorted.

"Danger is part and parcel of our work," Lucid told her. She picked up two firearms and began shooting at the remaining goons. Those who were still capable of mobility fled from her.

"Guns," Guerra said with distaste as Lucid sent a few more rounds at the escaping goons. "I hate the things."

"I didn't see you complaining when you turned some of those gunmen against each other," Zack noted.

"That was the only tactic I had left," Guerra told him. "And I'm glad this is over."

"For now, perhaps," Warren said. "I don't think the fighting's over just yet."

"I hope I don't sound ungrateful," Zack said, approaching him, "but who are you supposed to be?"

"He's one of the X-Men," Guerra told Zack, eyeing Warren's uniform. "Isn't that right?"

"Yes," Warren said. "I'm Angel. My teammates should be on their way here now. The other X-Men are helping evacuate the Morlocks from the tunnels below."

"The Morlocks are actually leaving their tunnels?" Zack mused. "It must be the end of the world or something. I wonder what Marrow thought of that."

"We can discuss it inside," Guerra suggested. "Come on." She led them back to the barricades. "That was pretty quick," Flinn observed. "But then again, you had help." He extended a hand to Warren. "Welcome to our Home, mister. Where's the rest of your team?"

"On their way," Warren said. Just then, his communicator came to life: _"Warren, this is Sean—report in, lad."_

"I'm all right, sir," Warren said. "I'm at the heart of M-Town, from the looks of it."

"_Stay put, lad,"_ Sean advised him. _"We're coming. We shouldn't be more than a few minutes away."_

Warren nodded. "Yes, sir. I'll meet you topside." He turned towards Flinn: "Would that be all right?"

"The roof's fine," Flinn told him. "We'll meet them with you and take them to Momma Lynn when they arrive. She'll want to know about what you X-Men are doing."

"Who's Momma Lynn?" Warren asked Lucid.

"She's the one holding the entire neighborhood together," Guerra explained as they entered Home. "There was supposed to be someone before her who was keeping M-Town safe from the gangs but he's dead now."

"He was supposed to be all –powerful," Lucid added. "Almost like a god. Imagine that—a mutant god." She laughed.

"No such thing," Zack muttered. Guerra reached over and squeezed his hand. She knew that Zack wasn't the type to believe in anything he couldn't see. He looked at her and simply shrugged.

Their wait didn't last long. Several moments after reaching Home's rooftop, they heard a pair of screams from a short distance away.

"What was that?" Lucid asked, instantly at the ready, scanning the surroundings for trouble.

"It's simply, uh, Banshee," Warren assured her. Sure enough, Sean, Theresa, and Roberto came into view. Hisako was held in Sean's arms. Warren hovered slightly off the rooftop and waved at them.

"Glad to see you're all right, lad," Sean said, letting Hisako down. Theresa and Roberto landed beside him.

"I was lucky to be with some real good fighters, sir," Warren said. "This is Mr. Flinn, that's Lucid, Vital, Guerra, and Zack."

"Pleased to meet you all," Sean said. He walked up to Flinn. "I haven't seen you in a while, old friend. How did you come to be here, Ned?"

"I live here now, buddy," Flinn told him. "And let me tell you, man, I thought it would be quiet here but the way things are now, I almost wish I was back with Interpol."

"I wish you were back there myself, considering all the trouble in the world that we have to manage without you," Sean said, laughing. He turned towards his daughter and her teammates. "Ned Flinn here, he's one of the best men I ever worked with in Interpol. He had a way with the ruffians we had to deal with. None of them ever crossed him, I tell you."

"You were with Interpol?" Zack asked warily.

"Yeah," Flinn replied.

"You never told us," Lucid chided him.

"You never asked," Flinn said.

"I'll vouch for him, lads and lasses," Sean said. "He's a good man to have on your side in a fight. Actually, he's a good man, _period_."

"If you say so," Zack said. "You took us in so I guess we can't complain."

"And you and your friends have been good neighbors to everyone," Flinn told him. "I can't complain about that." He grinned at Sean. "Come on, man. Let's get inside so you can meet everyone else."

"Aye, that would be good," Sean said. "I think we've got lots to talk about. But first, we've got to secure the building."

"It's secure," Lucid said.

"And how do you know that, lass?" Sean asked.

"Trust me, sir," Lucid assured him, "we've got sentries posted and there's not a sign of trouble heading our way."

Sean thought about it and then said: "All right. Let's go hold council then." As they were going down to where Momma Lynn waited, Warren whispered to Sean: "How are Mr. Logan and Mr. Wagner doing?"

Sean looked him evenly and then answered: "I'll fill you in on that when we hold our little talk, Warren."

"Did something happen to Mr. Wagner?" Warren wanted to know.

"We don't know yet, lad," Sean said. Before Warren could say anything further, he went on: "And until we know what's happened or what's happening, you'd best stay calm, all right?"

Warren didn't say anything for several long moments. Sean prodded him: "All right, lad?"

"All right, Mr. Cassidy," Warren finally agreed. "I just hope nothing bad has happened to Mr. Wagner or anyone else."

"Don't worry, lad," Sean assured him with a smile. "Kurt can take care of himself and Logan's down there too. Anyone tries to make trouble and they'll have a double handful more than they expected." He hoped he sounded positive enough to take Warren's mind off the topic. Deep inside, he was more than a little worried about Wolverine. _Watch yourself, Logan, and do your job,_ he thought to himself. _Then get out of those blasted tunnels—get everyone out of there alive._


	20. Chapter 20

David was loading his guns when Michiko returned from her scouting flight. "Is the line holding?" he asked her.

"Yes," Michiko replied. "It appears that nobody is interested in destroying anything outside of M-Town. All the fighting is now effectively confined to this area."

David nodded. "That's good. At least we don't have to worry about collateral damage on an incredibly larger scale than it already is."

A cry of pain caught their attention. "Ow! Hey!" Evan drew back from the ministrations of Boo, the fourth member of their group. She'd caught up with them during their battle with a mixed band of thugs working for "Filthy" Frankie Zapruder, one of the major criminal gang lords operating out of M-Town; she had, in fact, saved Evan from getting beaten by a thug wielding a ball-and-chain contraption that looked like it was stolen from a demolition-crew crane. Evan had escaped with a cut across the cheek but nothing worse.

"It's just antiseptic spray, you big baby!" Boo told him. "I have to clean your wound first so stop being such a wuss."

Evan glowered at her but held still as she finished tending to his wound. Then she kissed his cheek. "There—all better?" she asked.

Evan tried to keep the scowl on his face but her smile made it hard. He finally smiled back at her and said, "Yeah. All better."

"Good." Boo gave him a hug. "You should be more careful, boyfriend. I don't want that face of yours getting messed up."

Michiko arched an eyebrow and looked at David, who shrugged. Boo had made it a point to flirt with Evan from the time they first worked together. Neither David nor Michiko was sure if it was just a passing flirtation, given Boo's age, or if it was anything serious. Evan simply took it in stride and, to his credit, didn't take advantage of whatever attraction—if there was any—Boo had for him.

Michiko approached them and asked Boo: "And where have you been, young lady?"

"Well," Boo began, "I was sleeping for most of the morning...because I was out last night." She looked at Michiko tentatively, casting her eyes downward and shifting her foot from side to side. Michiko was like a big sister and mother combined when it came to her so she knew that she wasn't going to get any slack for doing something that was sure to meet with Michiko's disapproval.

"Were you out all night?" Michiko wanted to know.

Boo nodded. "Yes, madame." Evan put a reassuring arm around her and was about to speak but a look from Michiko made him think better of it.

"You were lucky you found us before something happened to you," Michiko said. Boo made no reply. "Didn't you notice anything suspicious last night while you were out?"

"Not really," Boo said. "But...I guess I wasn't paying attention."

"That's not what I taught you," Michiko scolded her. "That's not what we all taught you."

"No, madame," Boo admitted contritely. "I'm sorry."

Michiko let her fret a bit longer than nodded. "Apology accepted. Be more aware of what's going on around you next time." With that, she returned to David's side.

"Don't worry about it, Boo," Evan told her. "I got chewed out too when I was just starting out with her and D.Z."

"Your aunt chewed you out worse, I'm sure," Michiko said by way of response.

"Oh, yeah," Evan agreed. "Auntie O really could hand you your backside on a platter when she got upset. I'm glad it didn't happen too many times." He squeezed Boo's shoulder affectionately, eliciting a rueful smile from her. "Have we got anything to eat?" she wanted to know. "I...I wasn't able to get breakfast before I ran into you guys."

Michiko shrugged. "Sorry—I made sure I ate breakfast before we met up here."

"Same here," David said. "You can have this, though." He tossed a bottle of green tea her way. Evan caught it. Then he produced an energy bar. "Here," he told Boo. "You can have this. I brought a couple of them with me in case we took long." He unwrapped the bar and handed it to her. Boo took a bite and offered him the bar but he declined, telling her to finish it so that she could keep up with them the whole day.

David had a smile on his face as he watched them. Michiko noticed. "What's that for?" she asked quietly.

"Sometimes, I forget that these two are younger than we are," David told her. "If things were different, they'd be at Xavier's school or the Massachusetts Academy."

"I see." Michiko looked towards the far end of the room they were in reflectively. "We have company."

"I know." David drew his sidearm and pointed it towards the crates that were stacked near the back of the room. "Come out." Two men and two women dressed in almost identical full-body armor stepped out from behind the crates.

"Nice welcome, Danger Zone," one of the women said. She had light, grayish-blue skin and a black patch around her left eye. "Glad to see you haven't become paranoid in your old age."

"It never hurts to be careful, Dom," David told her. He holstered his gun. "How are things out there?"

"Not so good, from what we saw," Domino reported. "Zapruder, Kaufman, and all the other idiots who want to run this place are at each other's throats. What happened to the police and the Guardsmen?"

"They've switched from engagement to containment," Michiko informed her. "They think that will lessen the casualties they'll suffer."

"Smart move," Domino said. "So what are we supposed to do?"

"The eye of the storm is heading towards this place," David said, taking out a miniaturized VR projector. It showed Home's location. Surrounding it were areas in red, yellow, and green. "The red areas are still hostile territory. The yellow areas are neutral at best. And the green ones are secure, thanks to the people inside that facility." He pointed towards Home.

"I've heard of that place," James Proud Star—whom Domino called Warpath—said. "It's supposed to be where many of M-Town's mutants live. They take in runaways and homeless people."

"That's right, James," David said. "And right now, they're under siege."

"And we're supposed to help break that siege?" Gloria Muńoz wanted to know. Domino's code name for her was Risque.

"Exactly," Michiko said. "Otherwise, the people in that building—mutant or otherwise—won't stand a chance. The two biggest gangs want them under their thumb or out of the way. They've got defenders but they won't last in the face of a sustained attack and with this trial going on, there won't be help coming from the authorities."

"I lived there once," Jesse Aaronson—Bedlam to Domino and his other teammates—said. "They let me stay while I was searching for my brother." Jesse and his older brother Christopher were separated at an early age after their mutant powers manifested themselves. Both of them were put in a government-run "foster home" that Christopher managed to escape from, leaving Jesse behind. When Jesse got out, he immediately went searching for his brother. They eventually met but circumstances led to a tragic end for their reunion.

"You're familiar with the people who live in District X?" Domino asked him, using the government designation for M-Town.

Jesse nodded. "Yeah. I still remember most of them—if they're still alive. If they're in trouble, I want to help."

"What do you say, Dom?" David asked. Domino thought about it briefly. She knew why David had called them to M-Town and she knew that they would be compensated for their participation. Still, what Jesse had said struck a chord inside her. The look on Jesse's face showed that he would go with David and his friends even without Domino or the others, if need be.

"All right, count me in," Domino said.

"I'm going too," James agreed.

"Gloria?" Jesse said, looking pleadingly at the remaining member of their team who hadn't voiced her decision.

"Of course I'm coming along," Gloria told him. Since Domino gathered them together, she'd felt protective towards Jesse and treated him like a kid brother. There was no way she was going to let him go into a major fight without her.

"Thanks, Gloria," Jesse told her gratefully.

"Any time, _hermano_," she said, using her favorite term of endearment for him.

David looked at Domino's team and then at his own team. Eight against an entire army or two. The odds were just about even.

"All right, ladies and gentlemen," he announced, "shall we hurl ourselves once more into the breach?"

"Let's hope we can get out of the breach in the same state we hurled ourselves into it," Domino commented wryly.

"This is getting boring, Gambit," Harpoon grumbled. He threw the human he dragged in with him at Gambit's feet and then stepped aside as Blockbuster deposited another human beside the first one. "Yeah—we don't like getting paid just to collect trash, you know," Blockbuster added.

"Patience, my friends, patience," Gambit said softly, smiling at them. Harpoon snorted derisively. He preferred working with Sunfire, whom he regarded as a total professional, as opposed to the narcissistic Gambit. Gambit then turned his attention to the humans before him. "Well, well, messieurs—not having much success, are you?"

"W-we're doing our best," Shaky Kaufman said, trembling uncontrollably as usual. Gambit didn't know if it was out of fear or just simply some physiological defect.

"Yeah, we didn't say it would be easy getting rid of those muties," Frankie Zapruder added. The derisive tone in his voice and the term he used rankled the mutants around him. Gambit, however, noted that they didn't react noticeably, although he knew that some of them were already straining at the leash to tear Zapruder limb from limb.

"Tsk-tsk," Gambit said. "It isn't nice to call people names, M'sieur Filthy." He smiled even as he used Zapruder's less savory nickname. He bent down and held out a pack of cards to both men. "Pick a card, gentlemen—any card."

Zapruder looked at him quizzically? "Pick a card?"

"_Oui_," Gambit said. "Pick a card, please. Both of you."

Zapruder took a card from the deck; Kaufman did the same with quaking fingers. Gambit kept his smile on despite the fact that they smelled like carrion rotting in the swamps of his hometown. Behind him, Blockbuster snickered softly. "Now watch," Gambit told them. He put the pack of cards in his coat pocket and then showed them his empty hands. Then he rolled up his coat sleeves theatrically to show that there was nothing there. "Voilá!" he said cheerfully. The cards in Zapruder's and Kaufman's hands exploded with a loud but harmless pop. Zapruder cursed. Kaufman screamed girlishly, thinking that his hand had been blown off by the explosion. Gambit looked behind him, gesturing for a woman standing beside Harpoon to step forward. She went over to Kaufman and silenced him instantly by putting a circular blade to his throat.

"Your hand is perfectly fine, M'sieur Shaky," Gambit said, laughing along with the other mutants in the room.

"What the hell was that for?" Zapruder demanded. He rose angrily. "Don't play games with—" Gambit cut him short with a kick to the chest that sent him sprawling on his back. Kaufman cringed beside him as Gambit stood over the fallen gang leader. Zapruder drew the gun that he carried concealed on his person but Gambit easily took it away from him with his fighting staff.

"You're being impolite, _mon ami_," Gambit chided him. Gambit threw his staff at the near wall. As it made contact with the concrete, the gun exploded. Zapruder's eyes grew wide with growing fear. Gambit's smile grew broader, pleased that the petty criminal at this feet was finally beginning to understand his vulnerability. Gambit stooped down and grabbed him by the throat. "You saw what happened to the card you picked and the toy you carry with you, _oui_?"

Zapruder nodded nervously. "Y-yeah..."

"Good," Gambit said. "Now, you're going to go back out there and throw whoever is left of you pack of cowards against _Mamán _Lynn and her family. I want that place leveled to the ground, m'sieur." He turned his attention towards Kaufman. "That goes for you too, you wretched piece of trash."

"Sure! Sure!" Kaufman said. "We'll do it! We'll take that place down!" Gambit nodded and Harrow let him go.

"Get out of here and do what I told you," Gambit ordered the two gang leaders. "Fail me and you won't live long enough to regret it." He let Zapruder go. Harpoon and Blockbuster grabbed him and Kaufman to throw them out of the building where Gambit and The Marauders, a mercenary group that Sinister himself had assembled, were housed as the conflict in M-Town took place.

"Are we really going to let those incompetents do all our work for us?" Scalphunter, the leader of The Marauders, asked.

"Of course," Gambit replied. "Why waste good personnel when we have them instead?"

"They're useless," Scalphunter repeated. "They've had all morning to effect the plan and they haven't even gotten anywhere near the front door of that building you want them to destroy."

"True," Gambit agreed. "But they do fulfill a certain purpose."

"And what might that be?" Scalphunter wanted to know.

"Cannon fodder," Arclight remarked. "Every army needs warm bodies to throw at the enemy to wear him down, isn't that right, Gambit?"

Gambit nodded. "That's correct. And who knows? They might just breach Home."

The X-Men were gathered in Home's main common room, surrounded by the residents of M-Town's long-standing refuge for lost or wayward mutants and humans. They'd been offered something to eat and had accepted politely. As they ate along with Guerra and her comrades, Theresa and Hisako couldn't help but look around the room where they sat along with a large number of other people. Theresa saw a teenage girl with hands fused like lobster claws feeding a little boy—at least she thought it was a boy—who looked like a cross between a human child and a salamander. Hisako, in the meantime, saw a girl who seemed to have the physical traits of an insect being cuddled by a half-human, half-bird mutant.

Robert nudged them both discreetly and whispered: "Stop it, you two. That's impolite."

"What?" Hisako asked.

"Staring at all those other people is rude," Roberto told her. "You wouldn't want anyone doing that to you, would you?"

"No, I wouldn't," Hisako admitted. "It just seems...I don't know—different from the school, I guess."

"How can they live like this?" Theresa wondered. "It looks like they don't have any other place to live but here...they don't even look like they have much to eat."

"They probably don't so just finish what you've been given and don't ask for seconds," Roberto said in his firm, quiet way. He put his bowl down and finished the cup of water that came with it.

"You don't seem...uh...bothered by all this," Theresa observed.

"My father grew up in a neighborhood like this in Brazil," Roberto said simply. "He took me there plenty of times while I was growing up and to places like it around the country to remind me where he came from."

"Oh." Theresa blushed almost as red as her hair. "I'm sorry, Roberto...I—"

"It's all right," Roberto said, smiling at her. "Are you done?"

"Yeah," Theresa said. "Same here," Hisako chimed in. Someone came by and took their bowls and cups.

"Come on," Roberto said. He stood up and walked over to where Sean sat. Theresa and Hisako followed him quietly. Theresa sat next to her dad while Hisako and Roberto joined Warren.

"Welcome to our Home," Momma Lynn greeted the X-Men. "We haven't had this much company in a long while."

"Thank you for your hospitality," Sean replied. "And my compliments to the cook, ma'am."

"You are most welcome and I shall pass your compliments on to Mr. And Mrs. Novales," Momma Lynn said. Then she leaned forward in her rocking chair slightly, gazing intently at Sean. "Now, Flinn tells us that you're here to help us. That's very kind of you."

"You've held out so far, ma'am," Warren spoke up, "but we're worried that the gangs who want to do you harm won't stop now that they have a chance."

"They've been waiting for an opportunity like this for a long time," Momma Lynn agreed, leaning back in her chair. "Francis Magruder and Sherman Kaufman have each been plotting to take over this area and make the mutants here their underlings. They would want very much to get at those we've been sheltering here."

"We've had plenty of help from Guerra, Zack, Lucid, Vital, and the others who've come here with them," Flinn said. "They're our front line fighters whenever things get rough out there. But this neighborhood has always been a good one for mutants. Aside from Magruder, Kaufman, and guys like those, the humans here see no problem with having mutants in the community. In fact, they've treated us all well. And we've done the same."

"You've done a good job leading them, old friend," Sean remarked.

Flinn nodded. "Chalk it up to Momma Lynn. She's the one who asked them to stay. They've learned a lot since then."

"Where did you come from?" Theresa asked Guerra.

"We came from a privately-run institution," Guerra told her. "It was being run under an international research program for future soldiers. I escaped together with Zack. Lucid and Vital brought us here along with some other mutants."

"She's just like Wolverine," Hisako whispered to Roberto.

"That's right," Guerra said, apparently having heard Hisako. "Wolverine came from a different branch of the same program that created us."

"So you aren't really mutants, then," Warren commented.

"Oh, but we are," Vital corrected him. "We're mutants just like you. We were created from mutant DNA taken from various…donors, you might say. And so we developed different abilities and different traits." He looked beside him as Lucid stirred in her sleep. Vital had commanded her to rest once they were inside Home and she did so without question. When Warren asked him about it, Vital simply stated that it was a way for Lucid to rest so that she could revitalize herself.

Warren was quietly impressed. He knew that the technology for cloning and accelerated growth existed—Worthington Laboratories was developing such technology for stem-cell research—but he hadn't heard of any other firms or organizations that were already using such technology on a regular basis.

"Who was running the program?" Sean asked.

"It was someone named Dr. Isaac Jones," Vital replied. "We all met him at one point or another while we were there but…for some reason…I can't remember what he looks like."

"Neither do I," Zack admitted. "But I do know he was present when we were being conditioned for combat."

"None of us remembers him," Guerra said, "although Lucid thinks she does. She supposedly dreamed about him several times."

"That's not surprising," Sean commented. "But that's neither here nor there at this point. Do you intend to stay here for the duration of the fighting, ma'am?"

Momma Lynn thought about it. Finally, she said: "Home is our last refuge, Mr. Cassidy. If it were to fall, that would be the end for many of us. Some of us might take flight and survive but there are others here who cannot."

"I sure don't intend to surrender to those goons we fought," Zack said. "I'd rather fight and die."

"Zack's got a point," Flinn said. "Magruder and Kaufman aren't exactly the kindhearted type. And once those two are through wiping us out, then they'd wipe each other out."

"But, ma'am," Theresa said, "if you stay, something bad might happen to you. We can take you to the school. There are already other mutants there. We're taking care of them."

"That's very sweet of you, child," Momma Lynn said. "But how many more of us can you care for at Professor Xavier's?"

"We can take care of you!" Theresa said. She turned towards her father. "I'm sure we could, right, dad?"

Now it was Sean's turn to think. The school was doing a good job so far of housing and feeding the refugees that found their way there but Momma Lynn had a valid point. As the number of refugees increased, the school's resources would be pushed hard. Putting some of them in the care of the Mutant Underground would help but, even then, things would be tough.

"We could…but only up to a certain point, Theresa," Warren said, articulating Sean's thoughts. "That is, unless we can stop the fighting here."

"That's not going to be easy," Flinn said. "We're lucky that some of the gangs have called it quits but Magruder and Kaufman won't."

"And whoever's down in the tunnels attacking the Morlocks won't either," Warren added. "I just hope Mr. Wagner and Wolverine are done getting them out of there. Haven't they made contact yet?"

"No, lad," Sean said quickly. "But I'm sure they're getting the job done." He still hadn't heard from either Wolverine or any members of his team so he was getting more than a bit anxious about where they were.

"Maybe I'd better go look for them," Warren suggested.

"Negative, lad," Sean said. "You're not built for underground fighting. We're staying here."

Warren looked as if he was going to disobey Sean's instructions but instead settled for going up to the roof. Sean let him go, reminding him that they would need him here in case of another battle.

"He's really worried about Mr. Wagner, isn't he, dad?" Theresa said quietly.

"Aye, Tess," Sean said. "That he is."

"We all are, sir," Roberto said. "I just hope they're done evacuating the Morlocks from the tunnels."

"We'd be glad to take some of them in, young man," Momma Lynn said.

"First we have to find out how many got out safely, ma'am," Sean said.

Zee watched as the Morlocks boarded the transport that had arrived to pick up Danger Zone's team. It looked like an armored ground vehicle it also appeared to have ground-effect technology.

"Are you sure you don't want us to take some of them with us?" she asked Eden Kane.

"Thank you but we'll take care of them," Eden replied. "The X-Men have enough people to worry about on top of their own students, I think."

"Well, yeah," Zee said. "They do. I just hope the worst is over."

"So do I," Eden agreed. "Rebuilding M-Town is going to take years." From where they were, they could still see the smoke coming from the area where the worst of the fighting was still taking place. Zee wondered once again how Wolverine was doing. At that moment, Fox went up to Eden and told her: "The Morlocks are all in, ma'am."

"Good. Tell the team we're leaving," Eden said. She held out her hand to Zee. "Thanks for the help once again, Ms. Culloden."

"You're welcome, Dr. Kane," Zee said. Eden got into the cab of the vehicle; moments later, it pulled away. Zee wished her and her team safe travel. Eden was an old family friend and they even attended school together. Their paths diverged after graduation: Zee went into the shadowy world of the defense and security industry while Eden pursued her scientific ambitions, as expected from the daughter of a prominent member of the international medical community like Adam Kane. Their paths met again when Eden came to her for help when she discovered exactly what Genomex, the organization her father worked for, was actually planning to do with their research. Zee and Danger Zone helped her take Genomex down and liberate the mutates and mutants that the organization believed they "owned". Since then, Eden became another voice for the cause of mutant equality, even if she now had a militant streak that Zee never previously saw in her. If anyone could find a safe place for the Morlocks until things settled down—_if_ they settled down—it would be her.

"All right, it's our turn to—" Zee started to say but then noticed the looks on both Kitty's and Bobby's faces...not to mention the absence of Laura.

"Where is she?" Zee asked them, knowing the answer already.

"She was here a minute ago," Bobby began. "Then she disappeared."

"Great. Just great." Zee activated her communicator. "Laura, report in. Now." There was no response. "Laura, report in. Repeat—report in." After a few more attempts, Zee gave up.

"Do we go after her?" Kitty asked.

Zee was about to agree but then her communicator came to life. _"Zee, this is Sean Cassidy—if you and the others have finished helping the Morlocks obtain safe passage, home in on my signal post-haste, lass. We're under attack and we need your help right away."_

"That was Mr. Cassidy!" Bobby said. "Looks like there's trouble where they are."

"There's trouble everywhere today," Zee remarked. "Looks like Laura will have to take care of herself for now. Come on—back into the Blackbird and let's see what Mr. Cassidy needs from us."


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter Seven**

Dr. MacTaggart and Agent Braddock, escorted by Colossus, entered the command center quietly and watched Storm deal with the crisis at hand. She could sense the tension emanating from the two students at the console, both of whom plainly felt that they were out of their depth at the moment. Storm, however, kept them focused and alert as she spoke to the X-Men who were still in audiovisual contact with her.

"She's handling herself well," Agent Braddock whispered. "She's not letting her nerves affect her. That's the mark of a good leader."

"That's as much as I expected from her, Elizabeth," Dr. MacTaggart remarked. "She's one of the best students that Charles ever had." At that moment, Storm had a hand on Esperanza Ling's shoulder, reminding her to stay calm as she tried unsuccessfully to get a fix on Wolverine's location. Douglas Ramsey had better luck: he had Zee, Sean's copilot aboard the Blackbird, on the monitor.

"Laura's MIA, Storm," Zee was saying, "repeat, Laura's missing in action but I suspect that she went after Wolverine. We're on our way to Mr. Cassidy's location to carry out extraction procedures if necessary."

"Can you pinpoint her location on the Blackbird's scanners, Zee?" Storm wanted to know.

"Negative, Storm," Kitty replied. "I'm trying but I can't find her. Storm, I'm worried—"

"We all are, Kitty," Storm interjected, heading off Kitty's growing fear for her new teammate. "If she's even half as good as Logan, she'll be all right. For now, get Sean and the others out of there as quickly as you can."

"All right, Storm," Kitty said. "We're almost there."

"Good luck," Storm said. She turned around and saw Dr. MacTaggart and her companions. Colossus stepped forward. "She wanted to know how the others were doing, Miss Munroe," he said. "So I accompanied her here."

"I brought Elizabeth with me," Dr. MacTaggart said, "in case she might be able to help."

"Thank you, Moira," Storm told her. "I think Elizabeth can help us." She spoke to Esperanza and Douglas: "All right, you two—you've done enough down here for now. Get something to eat and then attend the rest of your classes for today." She smiled at them. "And well done—both of you."

"Thanks, Miss Munroe," Douglas said. He took off his headset and got up, stretching to work the kinks out of his back.

"I hope Mr. Logan and the others come back soon," Esperanza said as Colossus took her headset from her.

"So do I, Esperanza. So do I." Storm nodded as the two students took their leave. When she turned her attention back to the command console, Colossus and Agent Braddock were already monitoring audiovisual traffic.

Zee checked her monitor and found that they were close to Sean's location. "Get ready, you two," she told Bobby and Kitty. "You're on Away Status in two minutes."

"Will you please speak in English?" Bobby asked her in an attempt at humor. He was rewarded by the sight of a smile—however slight—on Kitty's face. "We don't speak whatever language that is you secret agents speak, Ms. Culloden."

"That means you're going to be getting off the plane in a minute and a half, Bobby," Zee replied. An explosion down below caught her attention. A twisted metal wreck showed up on her monitor. Again she thought of Iraq and wondered why Logan actually allowed youngsters like Bobby and Kitty to take part in missions this dangerous. _But then again_, she thought, _the troops in Fallujah weren't much older._ "Make that a minute," she corrected herself. Bobby and Kitty unbuckled their safety harnesses and went back to the deployment bay. As they stood there, Bobby reached for Kitty's hand. "Don't worry about Laura," he whispered. "If she and Logan are together, nothing's going to be able to stop them."

"You think so?" Kitty asked.

"I know so," Bobby told her.

Kitty smiled at him and then kissed him on the cheek.

"What was that for?" Bobby asked.

"Oh, just like in _Star Wars_," Kitty replied, blushing slightly. "You know—for luck."

Bobby thought about what she said and smiled. "I guess I've got all the luck I need," he remarked.

"Away Status in ten, nine, eight…" came Zee's announcement over the intercom. Bobby and Kitty listened as she counted down and then they were outside the Blackbird, descending in mid-air.

"Nice," Bobby said, complimenting the smooth way that Kitty had phased them through the plane's fuselage. "Now it's my turn." He held Kitty close to him and created an ice slide to take them the rest of the way down. From what they could see, the streets of M-Town were in utter chaos as fighting raged down below. Armed human gangs were laying siege to a building that was being defended by what looked to be both mutant and human defenders.

"That's something you don't see everyday," Bobby commented. "Those people down there are actually helping mutants."

"I guess they're all neighbors here, Bobby," Kitty said. She searched for her other teammates and found them not far from the building. Roberto Dacosta and Hisako Ichiki were engaged in a brawl with multiple opponents. Theresa Cassidy was using her sonic scream to form a defensive front to prevent the gangs from coming closer. As she was watching her fellow students in action, something hit the ice slide and caused it to shatter. In his surprise, Bobby let go of her. They would have plummeted to the streets had it not been for Warren and Sean, who caught them.

"Are you two youngsters all right?" Sean asked, carrying Kitty in his arms as he would Theresa when she was a child.

"Yes, sir, we are," Kitty replied. "And thank you for the rescue."

Bobby seconded her opinion: "Yeah, Warren. Thanks for the save or we would've been splattered all over the pavement."

"You're welcome," Warren said. "Where are Mr. Wagner and Mr. Logan? Why aren't they with you two?"

A discreet look from Sean kept Bobby from replying immediately. Kitty looked at him and then at Sean. Then she said simply: "They're getting the Morlocks out of the city. Then they'll be back on the Blackbird." Inside her mind, she winced, knowing that she was lying to a teammate, if not to a friend.

"Well, I hope they return soon," Warren commented as he and Sean let Bobby and Kitty down on Home's roof. "We need them."

_Don't I know it_, Bobby thought. If Wolverine were with them, he and Sean would undoubtedly be able to organize a proper defense that would repel the human gangs threatening Home. And with Laura's additional combat skills, they could keep the gangs away long enough for the police and maybe the National Guard to step in and take control of the city.

"_Down! All of you, down!" _Sean ordered them suddenly. He let loose a sonic scream that caused a small explosion in mid-air.

"What was that, Mr. Cassidy?" Kitty asked from where she lay on the roof. Bobby had instinctively thrown himself upon her in a protective gesture.

"Is somebody using a mortar again, sir?" Warren asked.

"No, lad," Sean answered grimly. "It looked like a small missile to me. I think things have just gotten worse."

"You missed," Arclight said to Scalphunter. From where they were, they saw the two flying X-Men save their fellow mutants from a hard fall. When he tried bombarding them a second time, Sean Cassidy—the Interpol agent who'd been on his trail since his mercenary days—prevented the missile from hitting them. Over the years, he'd developed a grudging respect for Cassidy and he frankly admitted it but that didn't mean that he was above getting annoyed with the Irishman for making it difficult for him to earn a proper living. Not that his tastes were all that expensive but the costs of maintaining and upgrading his tools, as he called them, did amount to a huge chunk of whatever profit he could make. Good thing Sinister had him on retainer. At least he could count on one steady revenue stream.

"Cassidy's getting to be a real pain in the neck," Scalphunter commented reflectively. He spoke into his communicator: "Gambit, Scalphunter. Do you copy?"

"_What is it_, mon ami_?" _was Gambit's reply.

"The X-Men are here, that's what," Scalphunter informed him. "I suppose we can safely assume that Zapruder and Kaufman aren't going to get the job done."

"_So it would seem,_ mon ami_,"_ Gambit agreed. "_I think it's time to let your friends in on the action, then, eh?"_

"With pleasure," Scalphunter said, a terrible smile surfacing on his hard-bitten face. After signing off, he turned towards Arclight. "Le Beau's finally going to let us have some fun."

Arclight looked more than pleased; she actually looked happy. "At last," she said. Scalphunter smiled slightly. He and Arclight worked together several times in the past; when Sinister inducted her into The Marauders, he knew that he would have a second-in-command who would be more than competent enough to carry out their missions. Time and again, she displayed a remarkable gift for combat that was honed in the hell of Vietnam and in the other hells that she found herself in around the globe. Even without her mutant abilities, she would be a threat. It was a testament to the aura of intimidation that she projected that an inveterate womanizer like Gambit actually treated her with great respect.

Gambit switched his communicator off and addressed the Marauders that remained with him: "Attention, _mes amis_! It's time for you to take part in the battle. Scalphunter has sent you all his coordinates and are to rendezvous at that location post-haste."

"Hah! I knew those two gene jokes wouldn't be able to break into Home," Scrambler said. "Now we take them ourselves."

"Last one to the rendezvous point is a yellow-bellied coward!" Harpoon declared. They filed out of the ready room and headed for the access tunnel that would take them to their commander's location. Gambit watched them leave then spoke into his communicator through a secure frequency and made his report to his master. "The X-Men have arrived, M'sieur," he said. "Scalphunter and his Marauders are getting ready to once more bravely throw themselves into the breach."

"_Excellent, Mr. LeBeau," _Sinister commended him. "_Return to the DMA at once and leave the Marauders to their enjoyment."_

"What about the Morlocks?" Gambit wanted to know. "Not that I didn't enjoy learning how to find them, mind you. I just hope it wasn't simply for my sake."

"_Don't worry about them, Remy. Madame Spiral has that part of the operation under control. I'll be expecting you and Mr. Yoshida at the courtroom in, say, two hours?"_

"Two hours is more than enough, M'sieur," Gambit acknowledged. "I'll see you and Shiro at the DMA. How is the trial going, pray tell?"

"_It's going as planned, of course,"_ Sinister said. "_Before long, Magneto will get exactly what he deserves."_

Gambit laughed. It looked like everything was going their way. That was a splendid thing, to be sure, although he did want some excitement for himself. "And that's going to be something, isn't it? He won't even know it until after everything is over."

David watched a car sail through the air and crash into a brick wall not too far from where he was crouching behind the cover of an overturned armored van. "You know something, Dom?" he remarked to Domino over his comm unit.

"_What?"_ she replied.

"It's times like this that I wish I'd just become a professional violin player," David said. He peered out from behind the truck and was rewarded with a shower of shrapnel that riddled the truck but, fortunately enough, did not penetrate it.

"_You can play the violin?"_ Domino asked, plainly curious.

"No," David said, smothering a chuckle, "but I suppose I can still learn how to play if I live through all this."

Domino groaned inwardly. _"You had that joke all set up for a long time, didn't you?"_

"What joke? I did study the violin a little," David said. Then he turned serious. "How are things on your end of the street?"

"_Same as always,"_ was Domino's response. She got up slightly from where she was ducking behind a chunk of concrete and managed to squeeze off a couple of shots before warning her squad: "Get back! Incoming!" She leaped out of the way as something large, charred, and smoking collided with the wall above her, showering bricks onto the pavement. Her reflexes allowed her to avoid the bricks but, in the split second that she was vulnerable, one of Madame Spiral's cyborg troops sent a barrage of rocket-propelled grenades her way. She easily avoided it and sent a burst of fire in the direction of her attacker. With a satisfied smile, she heard him cry out in pain as the armor-piercing shells penetrated his armor and sent him flying backwards. His friends, however, took aim at her and began to fire.

_That's it, boys, just hold your positions for a few more seconds,_ she thought. That was when the pavement shot up in fragments from under their feet and enveloped them in a hail of concrete that effectively disabled them.

"Nice going," she told Evan as he came running up to her along with David and the others. "You're getting good at what you do."

"Practice makes perfect," Evan said, "As Auntie O used to tell us." He took a look at the damage around them. "That's another bunch of robo-dudes we've busted up today." This was the second line of cyborgs that they'd run into. The first line was easily taken care of when they ambushed them. He and Boo, along with James Proud Star and Gloria Muňoz, engaged them in hand-to-hand combat without much difficulty.

"Yeah," David said. "And that's what worries me."

"How come?" James asked as they went on the move again.

"We haven't run into any of Zapruder's or Kaufman's goons since we hit the streets," David explained. "These cyborgs aren't theirs. They don't have the money to outfit any of their thugs in high-tech weapons systems."

"I think these are Donald Pierce's troops," Domino said. "The technology looks like his."

David gestured for them to stop and take cover. Then in a whisper, he said: "We've got another line of them up ahead. And, yeah, Dom—I think these are Pierce's hired guns. Heard any rumors about him lately?"

"_Well, I heard he's got some hotshot being groomed as his LT," _Domino replied over her comm unit. _"You think he's in charge of this operation?"_

"Could be," David answered quietly. "Temper—how many on the ground?"

"_Six. Want me to take care of them?"_

"No, let me handle them." David unloaded the ammo in his gun and inserted one of the cartridges that Michiko gave him back at their command post. "I want to try one of Hiro's shells and see what kind of tricks he's been up to at his workshop." He cocked the rifle. "Keep an eye on me, though."

"_Affirmative,"_ was Michiko's response.

"Stay put and keep me covered," he told the others. Then he moved out of cover and actually stood in the middle of the battle-scarred street. "Hey, there! Is this a private party or can anyone join in, huh?" he yelled. Before the cyborgs could open fire, David pulled the trigger. The shell flew out of the gun barrel and whirled towards the cyborgs as they were already starting to shoot back. David got under cover and watched as the shell generated some kind of vortex that tore the cyborgs apart, as well as anything within a two-meter radius. David scurried out of the vortex's range. It took all of thirty seconds for the vortex to reduce whatever it touched to debris.

"Mother of Space and Time," David commented, quoting a line from one a short story he read once. Somehow, it seemed appropriate. He knew that Hiro Takachiho usually outdid himself when it came to the stuff he made in the laboratory that David and Michiko helped him set up in a secure area somewhere in Japan. His teammates in Big Hero 6 were more than pleased with his inventions, particularly when it came to fighting threats to their homeland and to the world at large. But this time, David wondered if maybe Honey Lemon, the leader of Big Hero 6, should encourage Hiro to take his genius in other directions.

"_What was that, boss?"_ he heard Evan ask over the comm unit.

Domino chimed in: _"Danger Zone, are you all right?"_

"Yeah, I'm all right," David replied. "You can come out now. Proximity's all clear."

The others joined him where he stood. Michiko landed softly beside him. "So what do you think of Hiro's new invention?" she asked.

"Hiro made that?" Evan asked, shaking head in amazement. "Man, that kid's something else."

"Kid? This Hiro's a kid?" Domino asked. "How is it possible that a kid can create a weapon that can do that much damage?"

"He's a highly intelligent boy," Michiko replied. "His IQ is much higher than his age suggests."

"Yeah, maybe too much higher," David remarked. "Tell you what—we get out of this mess alive, we're taking him and his mother on a holiday. Maybe we can take him to Tokyo Disneyland or something like that. Frankly, he's starting to give me the creeps."

"How come, boss?" Evan wanted to know. "It seems to me like his stuff's been helpful to us a lot of times."

David pointed towards the remains of the cyborgs and whatever else the vortex shell had destroyed. "When a kid starts to make weapons of mass destruction that can be carried by hand, that's when I start to think that someone should remind him he's a kid. Otherwise, he's going to go Eureka or Tommyknockers and then we're going to have a major problem."

Evan looked confused. "Say what, boss?"

"He means that Hiro might invent something that he can't control and destroy the world with it," Boo told him. "Hiro's a smart kid but Mr. Caine is right. He's still a kid and we shouldn't forget that."

"Fine," Michiko said. "I'll suggest that Honey take him on a holiday. Or maybe you and Gogo can do it." She had the barest hint of a smile on her face when she said that. David saw it anyway and raised an eyebrow in mock exasperation. Michiko, Honey, and the other members of Big Hero 6 frequently teased him and Gogo Tamago since they were always in a state of disagreement. From time to time, though, they would forego taking verbal potshots at each other (or beating each other up during sparring sessions) to express their concern for each other, however obliquely. Honey and Hiro thought that David and Gogo would make an excellent couple, an opinion that Evan and Boo seconded whenever they were around.

"We can discuss all that later," James interjected. "I think we've got company." He looked down the street and saw a group of cyborgs heading in their direction.

"Those guys are like the droids in Star Wars," Evan remarked. "There's no end to them."

"Then I suggest we go Jedi on them," Boo said tersely.

David turned towards Michiko: "Temper, I think you can join in the fun now. Give us cover but be careful. Save your strength. I don't want you to overtax yourself after what we went through with that _obaki_ we fought back in Izu."

"I understand," Michiko said. She flew off to engage the enemy. David barked out orders to the others: "Breakpoint, you and Bedlam are on point. I want you to throw those guys off-balance. Dom, you and I are shooting from the flanks. James, Boo, and Gloria—go in close and disable the ones we miss. Copy that?"

"Understood," Domino said, speaking for her team. "No sweat," Evan told his team leader.

"All right, let's clear this area and get to Home," David said, pulling on his headgear.

Bobby was looking out of one of the common-room windows when he saw movement down the street. He leaned out slightly, trying to get a better view but the angle of the window prevented him from doing so. He turned and saw Kitty with two of Home's younger residents. She'd settled in rather easily and was comforting some of the mutant and human children who were deathly scared of the fighting that was going on in M-Town. Fortunately, Mr. Cassidy and the mutant defenders of Home had successfully prevented the latest group of attackers from coming any closer than the foot of the steps leading up to Home's front door.

Despite everything, Bobby smiled. Kitty always was good with kids. Whenever there were new students at the school, particularly if they were children, Kitty was always one of the first to make them feel welcome. Jimmy, for example, felt out of place when he started school with the other kids, partly because he spent a good chunk of his life in Worthington Labs' research facility and partly because he felt guilty over what happened to Professor Xavier, Jean Grey, and the other mutants who died during the battle at Alcatraz. Kitty, however, befriended him and took him under her wing, slowly coaxing him out of his shell until he finally accepted that he was a part of the school.

He walked over to where Kitty sat. "How long have you been a student of Professor Xavier?" the mutant girl beside her was asking.

"Two or three years now, Lori," Kitty answered her. "I practically grew up at the school."

"Wow…it must be an exciting place," Lorelei said.

_Yeah, it is,_ Bobby thought. _Sometimes, it gets a little too exciting._ He sat just a little behind Kitty.

"Well, it is exciting," Kitty admitted. "But the Professor tries—" Bobby stiffened a bit and was about to interject but Kitty caught and corrected herself: "Professor Xavier tried to keep things nice and peaceful. I mean, he wanted us to learn more than just how to use our powers. We learned things there like we would in any normal school."

"Wow, I really wish I could go there too," Lorelei said quietly.

"Maybe you can," Kitty told her, "after things quiet down in M-Town. We can ask Momma Lynn for permission."

The boy sitting with them hadn't spoken while Kitty and Lorelei were chatting. But now he spoke up: "Could you…could you go there if your parents weren't mutants?"

"What do you mean?" Kitty asked him.

"Well…I mean…what I wanted to ask was…" the boy stammered, not knowing how to express himself without offending Kitty.

"Go on, Larry," Lorelei prompted him. "She won't hurt you for asking a question."

Larry smiled hesitantly. "Okay…I guess what I wanted to know was…were your parents mutants?"

Kitty thought about it and then answered: "No, I don't believe they were. I'm the only one I know in my family who's a mutant." She looked him straight in the eye. "Why do you ask?"

"Well…" Larry said, "I always thought that one of the parents has to be mutant for a child to become one too."

"Maybe so," Kitty told him, "but that's not always the case. I have several friends back at the school whose parents were humans but who developed their mutant abilities later on in their life. Sometimes, we get students with one or both parents being mutants but not always."

Larry swallowed hard and then asked: "Did your parents know you were a mutant? And were they…were they ashamed that you were a mutant?"

Bobby kept silent as he wondered how Kitty would answer that question. When his parents learned about his mutation, they were split over whether he should remain with them or go with Professor Xavier when he came to visit. His mother wanted him to stay, stating flatly that he was her son, no matter what else he might be. His father, however, wanted him to go with the Professor, saying that he wouldn't be safe at home. Only later on, when he and his friends were forced to take refuge at his house, did he learn that his father and his brother couldn't accept the fact that he was a mutant. It took a few years—and the intervention of his cousin, who was herself a mutant—before they came to terms with his situation.

"Well, my father never learned that I was a mutant," Kitty replied honestly. "He died when I was very young. My mother took care of me and she knew I was a mutant but she loved me all the more because she felt that I was special."

"Special," Larry echoed. Kitty could sense the sadness in his voice and asked: "Is there anything wrong, Larry? Is that why you're here? You ran away from home?"

Larry shook his head. "No, no…they…that is, my dad…" He stopped. He couldn't tell them about his father. Not if he wanted to stay at Home.

"Hey, I know how that feels," Bobby said.

"Y-you do?" Larry asked him. He was crying but he didn't seem to know it.

"Yeah, my dad and my younger brother didn't exactly like the idea of me being able to do this." Bobby activated his power and a snowball materialized on his hand.

"Wow! A snowball! Neat!" Lorelei exclaimed.

"So…so what does your father say about you now?" Larry wanted to know.

"We're still working on it," Bobby said, tossing the snowball into the air above their heads and turning it into a light dusting of ice. "But at least he isn't going to turn me in to the police when he sees me using my power."

"Oh." Larry sighed. "That's nice."

Just then, there was a dull thud and Home seemed to shake to its foundations. Bobby got up and was about to go to the windows when Vital entered the room. The mutant medic told everyone present to head for the safe rooms at Home's basement level. Kitty and Bobby helped usher everyone out of the common room.

"What's going on, Vital?" Lorelei asked as Home's residents went downstairs.

"We're under attack," Vital replied. "But Flinn, Zack, Guerra, Lucid, and the others are going to try and stop it with the X-Men's help."


	22. Chapter 22

Wolverine stopped and sniffed the air. The scents of metal and plastic were totally gone. That meant that the cybernetic creature he encountered a few meters from his position was the last one in the tunnels. Whether that was a good or a bad thing was a question he was still thinking about. On the one hand, it meant that nobody knew he was coming. On the other hand, it might also mean that he was walking into a trap just like Storm said.

_Not as if I had a choice,_ he thought to himself. "Leave no one behind" was one of the principles he held to without question. If he left Kurt with Madame Spiral, whoever she was, it was a foregone conclusion that he'd be dead. He had to get Kurt, no matter what.

He was about to move once more when he caught a new scent. He stopped and said: "I thought I told you to help Bobby and Kitty get the Morlocks out of here?"

"They're gone," Laura said, stepping out of the shadows. "We got them to safety."

"So you decided to follow me here?" Wolverine asked, turning to face her.

Laura nodded. "You might need help."

Wolverine thought about ordering her to leave but decided against it. Kitty's warning about a small army waiting for him was still very much on his mind so he figured having backup along wouldn't hurt. "All right, come on," he told her. "Stay close and keep your eyes open. We don't want anything sneaking up on us while we're down here."

Ahab studied the monitors on his portable work station intently, taking note of the audiovisual data he was receiving from the tunnels. Although his Hound Units were all apparently offline, the surrounding area beneath the building where Dr. Innocenta set up her second field office was rigged with enough passive sensors that could tell him if their guest was arriving even if a great many of them were rendered inoperable.

"Is our guest on his way, Roderick?" Dr. Innocenta asked from behind him.

"Yes, doctor," Ahab replied without looking up from his monitors. "He's deactivated the Hounds that were guarding the sublevel corridor leading here as expected. But I can still track him. He's not alone, though."

"Is that so?" Dr. Innocenta remarked. "Who did he bring with him?"

"An unknown mutant," Ahab answered. "The DNA signature is the same as his."

Dr. Innocenta digested that bit of information. "Is it Victor Creed?"

"No, doctor. It's a female." Ahab tapped one of the monitors. Dr. Innocenta looked at the data displays. DNA readings and other physiological scans did indeed show that Wolverine's companion was female—a young one, perhaps one of the students at Xavier's school. She considered the possibilities and potentials of such a discovery and felt a certain thrill. There were plenty of people that she knew who would offer her much in return for information regarding the location of their "perfect weapon" after its escape from their clutches. For the moment, however, she set those ideas aside. Logan's companion was undoubtedly there to assist him in rescuing the hostages locked up in the containment unit they had near the center of the room. She walked over to it and pressed a button on a control panel built into the side. "Your rescuer is on his way," she said into a small speaker grid. "Whether he actually succeeds is another matter entirely." She waited just long enough for a reply—a short burst of invective, most likely from the Morlock leader—before leaving the containment unit. She approached the Lady Oyama, who was meditating in preparation for her imminent confrontation with her nemesis.

"He's on his way," Dr. Innocenta informed her.

"I know," Lady Oyama said without opening her eyes. "He's not alone."

"No."

"It doesn't matter. I can handle them both."

"Of course." Dr. Innocenta smiled. "But would it be possible for you to allow me to fight his companion?"

Lady Oyama didn't reply for several moments. Dr. Innocenta was about to walk away when she asked: "Why?"

"Because his companion intrigues me," was the cyberneticist's response.

"All right," Lady Oyama said. "Leave Logan to me." With that, she lapsed back into silence. Dr. Innocenta bowed and left her to make her own preparations.

Marrow watched through the single window of the containment unit. The woman holding them prisoner—if she remembered correctly, she called herself Madame Spiral—was speaking with one of her minions. That one had surprised Marrow by defeating both her and Nightcrawler in combat.

"Marrow?" Nightcrawler called from where he lay. The Morlock Healer was tending to him as best as he could but the drug that Madame Spiral and her cyborg assistant—the one with the harpoon—forcibly injected them with had weakened their mutant abilities. Even her own healing factor was slowed down. Nightcrawler, having no such ability, was worse off than she was after having been stabbed several times by Madame Spiral's female subordinate with a sword. She and the Healer bound his wounds but she knew that he needed immediate medical attention or he would die.

"I'm here, X-Man," Marrow said, kneeling beside him. "Your friends are on their way. Hang on, all right?" She took his hand in hers and squeezed it gently. "We'll get out of here alive."

"Logan…he's coming—?" Nightcrawler whispered. His grip was feeble; Marrow felt a black certainty in her heart that he wouldn't survive. Grimly, she fought that certainty down, not wanting to accept it.

"Yes, he's coming." She didn't know who Logan was or if it really was him that Madame Spiral and her soldiers were waiting for but she thought it best not to let Nightcrawler worry any more. He needed to hold on to something to keep him strong. Her tactic seemed to work. Nightcrawler actually opened his eyes and smiled.

"I knew…he would never…abandon us…" he said. "We must…hold on…until he arrives…"

"That's right," Marrow agreed. "Hold on, X-Man. Don't you die on me." Nightcrawler closed his eyes. "Don't you dare die on me, X-Man!" Marrow repeated with an urgency in her tone that surprised the other Morlocks huddled around them. She let go of him and faced the wall of the containment unit. Although she knew it was a futile effort, she unsheathed her bone claws. The pain sent a shockwave from her hands to the rest of her body but she ignored it. She slashed away at the wall, trying to pierce it with her claws, but it was no good. She slowly fell to her knees and withdrew her claws. She tried hard not to weep as she cradled her bloody hands in her lap. The tears, however, came anyway. She was helpless as pain and sorrow racked her mercilessly.

Kitty and Bobby saw Roberto running up to the roof and called out to him. He stopped briefly so that they could join him before resuming his ascent.

"What's going on?" Bobby asked him.

"We're under attack again," Roberto answered without looking back. "Mr. Cassidy doesn't think it's any of the human gangs this time."

"Who is it then?" Kitty wanted to know.

Roberto shrugged. "All I know is that this looks like even more serious trouble than what we had to begin with. These guys are using heavy weaponry on us. If we don't do something soon, we'll be fighting them back from in here."

"Damn, that is trouble," Bobby said. "I sure hope Mr. Cassidy has some kind of plan." To himself, he thought: _Come on, Logan—where are you and Laura when we need you? _

When they got to the roof, Mr. Cassidy and the others were crouched low near the parapet. Flinn signaled them to get as low as possible to keep from being targeted by their assailants below. They cautiously joined the others, making sure that their heads weren't showing from the top of the parapet.

"Who's firing on us, sir?" Bobby asked as they joined their fellow students. Sean held up his hand and spoke into his communicator: "Well, Warren? What do you see down there, lad?"

"_I can't make out who's firing at us yet, sir,"_ was Warren's reply. _"Whoever it is has laid down plenty of smoke to cover themselves—wait, something's…look out, sir! Incoming!"_

Sean rose slightly and spotted what looked to be a small rocked headed their way. Bobby saw it too. He got up and iced the rocket to keep it from hitting home. Unfortunately, someone saw him and a barrage of heavy rounds came flying in his direction. Flinn, however, quickly pulled him down.

"You nearly bought it, lad," Sean admonished him. "Be more careful next time. Whoever that is down there is playing for keeps."

"Yes, sir," Bobby said. "Thanks, Mr. Flinn."

"No problem," Flinn said. "Now keep your head down."

Warren landed on the roof a few minutes later. "We won't be able to spot them from here, sir," he told Sean. "We may have to fight them at ground level."

"Which is what the want," Sean said. "If we could just clear away this blasted smoke, we could keep two of us up here for cover while the others took the streets."

"There's a way to do that, sir," Warren said.

"How?" Sean asked.

"I'll clear the smoke," Warren suggested. "You and the others take positions downstairs and prepare to fight once it's clear."

"Lad, surely you're not planning to just dive in there and use your wings to blow the smoke away, are you?"

Warren nodded. "That's exactly what I plan to do, sir."

"And I don't suppose anything I say will dissuade you from this course of action?"

"Not likely, with all due respect, sir."

Sean thought about it. "Wait a moment, lad. I may have a better idea." He thumbed his communicator. "Zee—are you nearby, lass?"

"_Copy that, sir," _Zee replied. _"Ready to evacuate?" _

"Negative," Sean said. "How far are you from our location?"

"_A quarter klick away, sir. I had trouble finding a parking spot." _

Sean laughed. "Is that right? Well, lass, get the Blackbird over to our location but stay out of sight above us. Stay within sensor range. Copy that?"

"_Roger that. I'm on my way." _

"What's the plan, Sean?" Flinn asked.

"We wait for Zee to arrive. And then we move. Here's what we're going to do." The others huddled around Sean, listening intently. When he was done, Flinn said: "Reminds me of Turkmenistan."

"I figured what worked then might work now," Sean said.

"It might." Flinn looked at Bobby and his classmates. "I'll lead the ground team."

"Agreed. I'll stay with the aerial team." Sean grinned. "We'll give those shooters down there something to remember us by, eh, boyo?"

"We sure will," Flinn remarked. He was smiling too. "Come on. Let's get downstairs." He made his way carefully to the passage leading back into the building. Bobby, Kitty, and Hisako followed him. Theresa, Roberto, and Warren stayed with Sean.

"I hope that's the last of these robo-dudes," Evan said, brushing some dust off his jacket. James Proud Star and Gloria Muñoz sat nearby on the hood of a car that had been stripped almost entirely bare while Jesse Aaronson was having a cut on his arm bandaged by Boo. Domino and David were reloading their weapons. Michiko was on air-scout duty, as usual.

James nodded. "I agree. They're not hard to beat in a fight but there are more of them than there are of us. If there's one thing I've learned from history, it's that a disparity in numbers always comes back to haunt you in the end."

"Speaking from experience, James?" Gloria asked.

"From a long history of experience," James replied. Then he turned towards Jesse: "How's the arm, Jess?"

"Nothing major, James," Jesse answered. He rolled down his sleeve and thanked Boo. "But remind me to duck faster when we encounter another cyborg with a shuriken gun." His joke made Boo laugh. James smiled. At least the youngest ones on their team weren't too scared. That was something to be grateful about, if nothing else.

"Are you guys all set?" Domino asked as she approached them.

"Ready, boss lady," James said. He and Gloria hopped off the car.

"Good," David said. "We've got more ground to cover and there are probably a few more lines of cyborgs to clear before we reach Home."

"_Negative, Danger Zone," _came Michiko's voice on his headset. _"I think the situation may have changed." _

"What is it, Temper?" David said.

"_The cyborgs seem to have made themselves scarce,"_ Michiko reported. _"I think something's—"_ The rest of her transmission died in a burst of static.

David frowned. "Temper? Come in, Temper. Do you read?"

Domino cried out and pointed upwards. Something—no, someone was falling from the sky. David instantly recognized it. He shouted a command to James, who leaped into action. He caught Michiko on her way down. When he touched ground, the others crowded around them.

"What happened, Temper?" David was asking when Boo warned them all to take cover. They immediately ducked behind what used to be the front wall of a building. Something landed on the street—a huge hybrid of humanoid and reptilian attributes that combined into some hideous creature.

"What the hell is that?" Domino asked out loud. The thing turned towards the sound of her voice and charged with unbelievable speed. It rammed right through the remains of the wall that covered them. Domino, David, and the others scattered. The creature slashed and bit at anything that moved.

"D.Z., I think we just found out why the robo-dudes got out of Dodge," Evan remarked.

David didn't have time to respond. The creature charged them again. He fired his weapon at it at close range, to no effect. The creature tried to take his head off with its claws but he avoided it in time—only to get caught by its tail and sent through a plate-glass window that had stood miraculously unbroken.

"Danger Zone!" Domino rose from her position and aimed her rifle at the creature, emptying an entire magazine of armor-piercing rounds at its torso. The rounds hit the creature, denting but not penetrating its flesh. And the dents healed quickly.

_Uh-oh,_ Domino thought. _This isn't good._ The creature moved out of her rifle's range and chose James as its next target, knowing that he couldn't move too quickly while carrying Michiko. It tried to run James down so that it could corner it—but a solid burst of flame sent it sprawling into the street.

"Temper?" James said, looking down at the woman in his arms.

"You can put me down now, Warpath," Michiko told him. "I'm all right." James set her on her feet. "That thing caught me by surprise. I didn't spot its infrared signature right away because of how fast it was moving."

"It's quick," James said. As if to confirm that statement, the creature slammed into another wall, nearly collapsing it on James and Michiko. They dodged the creature's attacks until they found the rest of their teammates.

"Wait—where's Danger Zone?" Michiko asked, noting the absence of their leader.

"That thing knocked him into one of the buildings," Evan explained. "He hasn't come out yet."

Michiko glared at the creature. "Well, what are we waiting for, then? Let's go and save him from that thing."

Ahab allowed himself a smile of satisfaction. His monitors showed that the Predator Unit Alpha that he and Dr. Innocenta had worked on for several months was running optimally. The creature was like one of his Hounds, except that it functioned with very little restraint. The Hounds could be called off; the Predator, however, couldn't be stopped until it fulfilled its mission. Not even an armored division could sway it from its target once it was unleashed on the battlefield. He regretted not being able to oversee the Predator's progress in person; then again, that was hardly necessary and might even be dangerous. Besides, he had other things to do. They had their own battle to prepare for and it would be so much more intimate, much more personal battle. He called up the status readings for his remaining Hounds and saw that they were nearing maximal levels. Even if Wolverine was bringing backup, they'd be ready for them.

He checked his other monitors to watch Wolverine's progress. The X-Man and his companion were making good progress. He estimated that they would have ten minutes to spare upon reaching the satellite field HQ. The manipulator unit on his command chair had his harpoon arm ready. He looked at it admiringly, wondering how well it would stand up to the test that he would soon be putting it through. Somewhere else in the HQ, Dr. Innocenta was readying her own weaponry. Lady Oyama, in the meantime, hadn't moved from where she sat. She appeared to be asleep, although Ahab knew that if anyone tried something stupid at that point, she would simply kill him in a heartbeat. Well, perhaps he wasn't on that level in terms of combat skills but he knew he could hold his own against any mutant. Wolverine would perhaps prove to be his ultimate test.

"Zee, are you in position, lass?" Sean spoke into his communicator. The smoke was rising from the street below. Flinn reported a few moments earlier that he and his unit were ready. Home was buttoned down tight with its human defenders safely behind its walls but Sean knew that Home might not withstand the siege to come.

"_Roger, sir,"_ was Zee's reply. _"Sensors activated. Targets sighted below. They're approaching your position, sir." _

"Excellent, lass," Sean said. "Flinn—are you patched into our network?"

"_I read you loud and clear, Sean,"_ Flinn responded. _"Tell us when to attack."_

"Stand by, old friend," Sean told him. "You go in five minutes."

"_Right, Sean," _Flinn said.

"All right, listen up, young ones," Sean said, facing Roberto, Warren, and Theresa. "We're going to clear a path for our friends downstairs so we have to do it nice and quick.

"Warren—you take the lead and get rid of the smokescreen. Bobby, follow him close and keep him covered. Tess and I will be protecting your flanks. Remember: hit hard and hit fast. Understood?"

"Got it, Mr. Cassidy," Warren said. The others seconded his opinion. Theresa, however, retained enough presence of mind to ask: "How are we going to see through the smoke, dad?"

Sean tapped his headset. "Keep your communicators open because Zee will guide us while Warren's clearing it away."

"I'll keep my energy field damped enough to prevent any interference from throwing off the Blackbird's sensors," Roberto said.

"All right." He stood up. Another rocket came his way and he used a sonic scream to detonate it. He looked at the youngsters with him and thought to himself, _Well, Charles, your students will be laying their very lives on the line once more for your dream. Only this time, there's a lot more at stake than the school, old man. _He gazed at Theresa. Worry wrestled with determination on her face and, fleetingly, Sean wondered if it might not be better if he told her to stay behind and let the older students handle the fighting. He thought of his wife, Maeve, who died in an IRA bombing while he was away, doing his duty as an Interpol agent. He nearly lost Theresa then as it was his cousin Tom who raised her as his own daughter and turned her into a criminal. Fortunately, Tom exonerated Theresa later on and finally revealed who her real father was. Their reunion was an occasion of great happiness for Sean. Even when they parted ways—Theresa going to America to study at Professor Xavier's school while he wrapped up his work with Interpol—they promised each other that they would never lose one another again.

Theresa caught his gaze and locked eyes with him. Again, he saw Maeve in her—but he also saw something of himself and something of Charles Xavier in his daughter. He waved her over. Warren and Roberto moved a little to the side and Sean thanked them silently for that.

"Are you scared, Tess?" he asked her

"Yes, dad, I am," Theresa admitted. "I'm scared for us all, not just for you and me. This fighting seems to have no end." She took a deep breath and let it out. "But the Professor once told us that there were times when we would have to fight to make a difference—even at the cost of our lives. I can see that this is one of those times."

Sean said nothing and waited. Theresa continued: "Bobby and Kitty are down there…so is Hisako. Warren and Roberto are here. And so are you. I can't think of anyone I'd rather jump into a fight with than my dear dad and my dear friends. For all of us, I can be brave. Sometimes, that's the only way—by being brave for others, you can be brave for yourself."

"Did the Professor teach you that?" Sean asked.

"No, dad," Theresa replied. "You did." She smiled and hugged her father tightly. Sean embraced his little girl—no, he told himself, his daughter she may be but Theresa was no longer a little girl. Then he straightened up, her hand in his. He nodded at Warren and Roberto. Finally, he yelled: "Once more into the breach and all of that!" With a roar, Warren jumped straight into the clouds of smoke below. Roberto followed him. Sean and Theresa dived in moments later. With Zee guiding them from the Blackbird, Warren's wings began to blow away the smokescreen laid out by the attackers below. Roberto played his role of wingman seriously, using bolts of concussive energy to knock down anyone who might try to shoot Warren down. Sean and Theresa's sonic screams leveled those left standing.

"All right, that's our cue," Flinn said. Vital and opened an access door and the former Interpol agent stormed out with the X-men and Home's main defenders along with him. He barked orders to them, taking cues from Zee. Soon they were engaged in hand-to-hand combat with the attack force trying to invade Home.

"These guys are cyborgs!" Zack declared, kicking one in the gut. The cyborg absorbed the blow with a grunt and swung a haymaker at him. Zack ducked, feinted, and then smashed the cyborg with an iron bar that he scooped up from the debris on the street. Lucid, in the meantime, grabbed another cyborg and turned his weapons against his comrades-in-arms.

"Great, that means I won't feel too guilty about beating up on them," Guerra remarked as he snapped a cyborg's still-human neck and tossed him aside. "The smoke's clearing." A wave of sonic energy disabled a quartet of cyborgs taking aim at something from above.

"It's the X-Men who can fly," Lucid said. She whirled around and clotheslined a charging attacker. She ground a heel into his nose. "I wonder how the others are holding up?"

Flinn threw three cyborgs down to the ground after crushing their armored torsos. The fight was a little harder than he expected but he was still on his feet, despite that. He wondered just how many cyborgs they had to deal with.

Someone shouted a warning. He felt a hand close around his wrist and saw a hail of bullets pass through his body. A battering ram made of ice smashed the cyborgs that tried to shoot him. When his body solidified, he saw that it was Kitty who'd touched him. "Neat trick," he told her appreciatively.

"Thanks," Kitty said. "It's comes in useful in a fight."

"_Heads up!" _Bobby cried, erecting a wall of ice to prevent a rocket from hitting the three of them. The wall suffered from several hairline cracks but it held. Bobby then made it surge forward as an avalanche that engulfed another group of cyborgs. Thus far, their charge had kept the invaders at bay and prevented them from closing in on Home's front door but Bobby was slowly beginning to realize that the cyborgs were coming at them much like his avalanche: steady, unrelenting, and unending. A few feet away from him, he saw Hisako in her armored form, taking a defensive stance against her attackers. Apparently, she was also starting to see that taking the offensive against the cyborgs had bought them time but now they were being pressed back against the wall, so to speak, once more.

Just then, Warren swooped down and drew the last of the smokescreen away from the streets, giving the X-Men and Home's defenders a good look at what was ranged against them. Flinn didn't like it. It looked as if the street was filled with half-human, half-machine soldiers. Sean and Theresa cut a wide swath through them with their screams. Roberto landed next to Hisako and began pounding metal just like her. Warren returned and blew several cyborgs off their feet with his wings. Lucid jumped into the fray, now attacking, now defending—staying in motion and giving Warren space to use his wings in combat.

_They make a good team,_ Flinn thought. _We might just turn this thing around._


	23. Chapter 23

Mystique entered one of the auxiliary control centers at the DMA. It was humming with activity. Men and women were hunched over monitors and manning communications. She walked up to one work station and addressed the security personnel: "What's going on in the city?" The one nearest her looked up; to his credit, he didn't object to her presence in the control center.

"The police have begun rounding up the criminal gangs that took advantage of the fighting in District X, ma'am," the DMA comm-operator told her while he kept up with a steady stream of network traffic. "The State Guard and the National Guard are on the ground providing support. The Air Guard is on standby. So is the Naval Militia."

"Are they moving into M-Town itself?" Mystique asked.

"Negative, ma'am," a female comm-operator replied. "They've been told to deal with the human gangs but to leave the metahumans alone."

Mystique went over to her console. "Why is that? Is the DMA deploying security forces to the area?"

The female comm-operator shook her head. "That's a negative too, ma'am. No DMA security forces have been deployed to assist the police and Guard units."

"Who ordered that?" Mystique wanted to know.

"Dr. Windsor ordered it," someone replied, "on the recommendation of Secretary Trask." Lieutenant Commander John Kitano entered the control room and approached Mystique. "Shouldn't you be at the courtroom, Agent Darkholme?" Unlike Dr. Windsor, Kitano addressed her and her subordinates by their last names instead of their aliases.

"The courtroom is secure, Johnny," Mystique said. She smiled when she saw a look of annoyance flash briefly across Kitano's face. "Besides, considering the magnitude of the situation in the city, I think it wouldn't hurt to keep informed in case we get sent in to take care of things."

"But you're not going to be deployed, Agent Darkholme," the officer said pointedly. "Our mission is to defend the DMA while the trial is going on and that's what we'll be doing. Secretary Trask has informed Dr. Windsor that the DHS will deal with the trouble in the city."

Mystique's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "Deal with it in what manner?"

"That's classified," Kitano replied. "Return to the courtroom, Agent Darkholme—"

"Deal with it in what manner?" Mystique repeated, her voice edged in steel. She eyed Kitano calmly and evenly, letting him know that she would not be intimidated or ordered around even if he did outrank her. Kitano stared back at her; he was trying to determine just how serious she was. After a while, he broke off and ordered the female comm-operator to show her something on her monitor. The comm-operator called up an image taken from an observation satellite. It showed the airspace above District X. The comm-operator zoomed in until she found the right angle and image. Then she backed away from her console and let Mystique see what was being picked up by the satellite.

There were four Sentinels hovering above M-Town. They appeared to be waiting for the signal to descend upon the area and perform whatever task was programmed into their CPU's.

Mystique uttered a silent curse. So Trask did get permission to activate Project Wide Awake from President Cockrum. Dr. Windsor was unable to stop him from convincing President Cockrum of the necessity of putting the Sentinels on active duty.

"Did Trask order this?" Mystique asked quietly.

"You mean _Secretary _Trask, Agent Darkholme?"

"I don't give a damn about his rank or yours, Kitano," Mystique said in a deadly tone of voice that dropped the temperature in the control center to a chilling level. "When did Trask order the deployment of those Sentinels?"

"An hour and a half ago, Darkholme," Kitano said, not letting her intimidate him, even if he really was—a little, anyway. "Secretary Trask made the decision based on the reports of escalating violence in District X."

"Did he even bother to clear this with Windsor?"

Kitano shook his head. "It was a command decision on his part."

"He's not in command of the DMA, Kitano," Mystique pointed out. "And you're not with Homeland Security anymore. I don't see the point of sucking up to him like you always do."

"Next thing you'll tell me, I'm a race traitor," Kitano remarked, ignoring her last statement.

"Maybe you are," Mystique said.

"Just because I agree with Secretary Trask?" Kitano seemed amused.

"Those Sentinels aren't going to discriminate between mutants, Kitano. They're not programmed to do that."

"True, but then again, as long as the mutants who live in District X don't act hostile towards them, the Sentinels won't respond in kind." He smiled at her. "Satisfied?"

Mystique didn't answer right away. She walked past him on her way to the door—then stopped. She didn't turn around as she said: "You and your boss, Kitano—you'll never change."

Kitano made no comment. Mystique left to find her subordinates to inform them of the Sentinels' presence.

The Sentinel was still half a kilometer away, engines on subsonic to give it stealth. Rahne Sinclair, however, still heard it coming.

"Sam, we've got a tin can in the air," she spoke into her communicator.

"_Roger that,"_ Sam responded. _"Let's move into position._"

"All right, Sam." Rahne turned to Xi'an Coy Manh, who was crouched behind her. "Come on, Shan." They were in a battle-worn neighborhood, using the debris and wreckage around them to conceal their forward progress. They halted a near the remains of a wall made up of crumbling stone. Rahne gave Sam their location.

"_Good,"_ Sam said. _"Shan? Can you locate the Sentinel?"_

Shan sent out her thoughts, opening her mind's eye wide. "Three hundred meters and closing, Sam. It's moving in Dani's direction."

"_Copy that,"_ Danielle Moonstar spoke. _"I'm in position, Sam."_

"_Let's get that sucker, gang," _was Sam's answer.

Danielle slowly focused her thoughts, channeling her psionic capabilities. When the Sentinel came into range, its visual sensors picked up Magneto, towering ahead of it, almost as tall as it was. The Sentinel reacted expectedly enough: it opened fire on Magneto.

"_Now, Sam!"_ Danielle said. Sam rocketed across the street, keeping low to avoid detection. Then he pulled up at an angle and aimed for the Sentinel's midsection at full speed. It was too late for the armored robot to evade him; the impact knocked it out of the air. The Sentinel fell right into the path of a raging column of lava that seemed to erupt from the street below. Even its hardened form couldn't save it. Within minutes, it was nothing more than slag raining down onto the blackened pavement.

"All clear," Sam said, hovering over the remains of the Sentinel. The street began to waver and disappear, along with the Sentinel. Sam touched down and looked up at the control room overlooking the Danger Room's main exercise area and waited for Tom Corsi's comments.

"_Much better than the last time, Sam,"_ came Tom's voice from the P.A. System. _"Good work, all of you." _

"Yeah!" Sam cried out. He slapped hands with Danielle and Shan, accepted an embrace from Rahne. Amara Aquila, the one responsible for melting the Sentinel to slag, contented herself with a joyous whoop since none of her teammates could touch her for the moment until she finished cooling herself down.

Tom Corsi watched the image of Sam and his friends celebrating on the monitor before him. Not bad indeed—Sam was able to make up for the mistake he made the last time he took on a Sentinel in the Danger Room. The kid learned from his mistakes quickly, Tom was glad to see, and he was also turning out to be a pretty good leader. Pretty soon, Logan would undoubtedly be bringing Sam along with the other X-Men when they went out into the field.

Assuming Logan got back from M-Town alive, that is.

Tom pushed the thought from his head. He'd been in enough trouble alongside Wolverine to know that he wasn't the type to go down without a fight—_check that_, he told himself, _Logan's not the type to go down, _period. That's why he was such an important part of the school.

"Want to go one more round?" he asked Sam. The young mutant looked at his classmates, who all agreed.

"Ready when you are, Mr. Corsi!" Sam announced.

"Stay alert," he told them as he ran a new simulation.

After a third exercise, Tom finally called a halt and told them to go to class. He was preparing to shut down the computer when its holographic avatar appeared.

"_The young ones are learning quickly, Mr. Corsi,_" it observed.

"They have to," Tom replied. "Things are getting hot out there."

"_This is because of the trial, isn't it?"_ the avatar asked.

Tom looked up from the monitor and eyed the avatar curiously. It stood almost as tall as Storm and was somewhat human in appearance for a three-dimensional representation of a blue-colored robot. Professor Xavier and Hank McCoy were responsible for programming the Danger Room's computer; apparently, they made it more intelligent than the average simulator.

"Yeah," he said after a while. "Magneto's the main event at the DMA and everyone wants a piece of him one way or another."

"_I sense a hesitation on your part to speak about it,"_ the avatar commented. _"Have I perhaps overstepped my programming?"_

"No," Tom said. "I guess I'm just not used to, well, talking to a computer even if I am used to talking to people who can crawl up walls, read minds, control the weather, or who have claws coming out of their hands."

"_That is an interesting observation, Mr. Corsi. I hope my presence doesn't discomfit you." _

"Not at all. I suppose I'll get used to you eventually."

"_I should hope so. After all, I believe I've served the Professor longest in the school. I certainly wouldn't want to start any kind of conflict with you or anyone else."_

Was that some kind of a subtle hint or a threat? Tom wanted to mull it over but decided to reply with a simple: "Neither would I. Shut yourself down, would you? I have to go to the gym to teach my next class."

The avatar smiled pleasantly. _"Of course, Mr. Corsi. You have fifteen minutes before your class starts; plenty of time for you to get there." _

Tom thanked it and left the control room. The good mood he was in after the training session with Sam and his classmates was diminished somewhat by his conversation with the computer. He wondered if he could ask Dr. McCoy to come over and do a shakedown of the system for maintenance purposes.

Pyro was at the cafeteria getting a much-needed cup of coffee. That was where he saw Rogue, sitting by herself at a table. He thought about it and then decided to approach her. If she told him to go away, he would. He knew she was probably still mad at him.

"Uh, hi," he said, a tentative smile on his face.

"Hi," Rogue said. "What are you doing out here? I thought you were supposed to be guarding the courtroom?"

"Well, uh, truth be told, I had to take a break," Pyro admitted. "That guy Fortune is boring me to death." He half-expected Rogue to berate him for his remark but was surprised to find a smile on her face. Then she said: "Tell you what, John—he bores me too. He doesn't seem to know how to do anything else but stab Magneto in the back. I had to step out for a while or else I might jump him in there."

"Yeah, I agree with you there. I was almost tempted to fry him."

"You should've." They shared a laugh and Rogue asked him to sit down. He did. For a few moments, they were silent and then Pyro said: "Look, about last time..."

Rogue stopped him. "I was pretty upset then, John. I'm sorry for what I said. I won't say I didn't mean it because I did…"

This time it was Pyro's turn to stop her: "It's okay. I know you were just trying to protect Magneto. I was surprised, though. I didn't think I'd ever see you doing that."

Rogue brushed her hair back. "Well, it wasn't something I ever thought I'd do, either, John. Sometimes I still can't believe that I'm actually friends with the same man who tried to kill me." She laughed softly, almost to herself, but Pyro could detect an undercurrent of bitterness in her voice.

"I guess everyone at the school is giving you a hard time," he said.

Rogue shrugged. "I kind of expected it. None of them knew that I was meeting Magneto whenever I left the school. When they found out that I was brought to the DMA, they all thought I was a prisoner like Magneto. Imagine their surprise when they learned about how the two of us had become all chummy." The bitter laugh came again. "Some of them thought I'd gone nuts or maybe defected or something like that."

Pyro looked at Rogue. She was staring down at her cup, as if trying to find answers there for the questions she had in her heart. His own heart, as always, went out to her. Time and distance hadn't done anything to change the way he felt towards Rogue and it probably never would. In all likelihood, he thought, he would love Rogue until the day he died.

"How about Bobby?" he asked cautiously. "How does he feel about all this?"

Rogue sighed and Pyro knew he had his answer. "Bobby and I…aren't together at the moment," she explained.

"Was it because of Magneto?"

"I'd be lying if I didn't say that was part of it But it was more than that, I guess." Rogue shrugged, as if trying to make light of her breakup with Bobby but Pyro could tell it hurt her at some level. "I think we kind of just…drifted apart. I thought taking the cure would help but it didn't. Or it did, for a while but then…I don't know…I guess Bobby was telling the truth when he said that it didn't matter if I was a mutant…"

Pyro thought about that for a couple of minutes. Then he asked her what he had wanted to know for quite some time now: "So how come you…why did you take the cure, Rogue?"

Rogue fell silent, stirred her coffee, and then finished it. Pyro waited. At last she said: "I didn't want to live my life not being able to touch the people I love without putting them in danger, John—like Bobby. I can't imagine being with him but not being able to hold his hand without needing to wear a glove to keep from killing him. I wanted to be able to touch him as much as I wanted whenever I wanted. And I couldn't do that as a mutant."

Pyro felt as if his heart would break. He thought back to when Rogue told him that she was present at the clinic that he firebombed. The thought that he nearly killed the girl he loved almost drove him to leave Mystique's team altogether and just resume his life of anonymity in Australia, writing romance novels under a pseudonym knowing that those novels would never be read by the one person who mattered to him most. At that moment, though, despite the way his heart hurt for Rogue, he was glad that he hadn't left.

"Rogue…" He reached out and touched her hand, not caring if her powers had returned, telling himself that it would be worth it even if it cost him his life. She didn't withdraw her hand. At least that was something.

"What is it?" Rogue asked.

"I wish…I wish that you never had to take the cure. I wish that I could take back everything and just go back to when we were at the school again. I wish that I had never left. I wish…" Pyro stopped, wondering how to go on. Because, deep down, didn't he really wish that he could change his entire life and make it all right? But he knew that was impossible. You couldn't rewind the past and edit it like you could a video. Sometimes, all you could do was make choices and live with them, whether they turned out to be right or wrong.

"I wish things had turned out differently too, John," Rogue told him gently. She gave his hand a light squeeze. "But I'm just glad that we had a chance to talk like this and clear things between us."

"Yeah, there is that," Pyro agreed. "Are we still...uh, I mean, can we still be…friends? As corny as that may sound."

Rogue smiled at him, a genuinely happy one this time, he was glad to see. "Of course we can, John. I wouldn't mind it at all." She added as an afterthought: "Even though I'll probably never get around to liking your boss."

Pyro laughed. "You mean Mystique? She isn't so bad—at least not all the time, anyway." He looked at his watch. "Speaking of which, we'd better get back to the courtroom, don't you think?"

"Yeah," Rogue agreed. "My two bodyguards might start sniffing around and get in trouble."

"You've got bodyguards?" Pyro asked.

Rogue nodded. "Agent Bishop assigned two of the FBI's finest to look after me at Storm and Logan's request."

"Are they really good?"

Rogue gave him a wry smile. "They're probably the best at what they do—whatever it is they do."

"Oh. Secret-agent types, huh?" Pyro chuckled. "This place is probably crawling with them."

"Speaking of secret agents, what's it like working for Mystique?" Rogue wanted to know.

Pyro shrugged. "Well, like I said, she's not so bad once you get to know her for a while. She's hard, that's the truth, but she's harder on herself than on anyone else, especially now, with everything that's going on here and out in the city. I suppose there are people who are hoping that we all screw up in a big way. People like Secretary Trask from Homeland Security and his friend, Dr. Shaw."

"You mean those two guys who are with the representatives at the trial?" Rogue asked.

Pyro nodded. "They've got almost as much of a grudge against Magneto as Fortune does. I wonder who they bribed to get on that jury."

"It's not really a jury, John," Rogue said.

"And for that I'm glad," Pyro said. "Otherwise those two can just mail in their verdict. I'm glad that Dr. McCoy is there to balance things out."

"I only hope he can convince the others to see things with a fair amount of reason," Rogue remarked.

"I hope so but I'm not holding my breath." Pyro looked around, as if not wanting anyone else to hear his next statement. "Between you and me, if things start to look bad for Magneto, I'm thinking of asking the boss if we could just break him out of here."

"You are?" Rogue asked in a half-whisper.

Pyro nodded. "Better that than watch him be executed. And after him, I'm fairly sure that Secretary Trask will try to go after us, especially the boss."

"He's really got a thing against mutants, doesn't he?" Rogue asked reflectively.

"According to the boss, his son's a mutant," Pyro said. "I don't know if it's true but, if it is, then he shouldn't be such a bigot."

"That's not always the case, John," Rogue said. "Remember back at the school? Some of our classmates actually got kicked out by their own parents when they found out about their mutant powers."

"You're talking about Bobby, aren't you?" Pyro asked.

"Well, he's one," Rogue admitted. "But then…so are we, right?"

"You ran away from home," Pyro said. "So did I." There was something akin to sadness in his voice.

"Yeah…maybe that's what Secretary Trask is doing," Rogue said.

"Say what?" Pyro asked, confused.

"He's the one who's running this time," Rogue explained. "He's the one who can't accept that his son is a mutant, if he really is one. And so he's taking it out on all of us because we're a reminder of what he's afraid of the most."

"You're starting to sound like Magneto," Pyro remarked. "Or Professor Xavier."

"Am I?" Rogue asked wonderingly. That observation probably wouldn't go over well at the school. _As if that were anything new,_ she thought. She was already a pariah as it is, maybe not for being a former mutant (she wondered if that was the correct term for it) but for siding with Magneto.

"Yeah," Pyro told her with a smile.

They reached the courtroom and found Mystique standing outside, waiting for them. "Where have you two been?" she asked.

"I, uh, needed to stretch my legs, boss," Pyro replied with a sheepish grin on his face. "I ran into Rogue here and voluntarily escorted her back here."

_A likely story,_ Mystique almost said out loud. "All right, let her into the courtroom. The newbies are in there with Stonewall. They're taking over from you for now."

"How come, boss?" Pyro asked.

"We've got something to take care of," was all Mystique would say. Pyro didn't ask anything more until Rogue was back inside the courtroom. Then he followed his team leader outside the DMA Legal Building.

"What's going on, boss?" Pyro asked when they were away from any possible eavesdroppers. Mystique quickly filled him in on the Sentinels hovering above M-Town. "You're joking, right?" he said.

"Do I look like I'm joking, Mr. Allerdyce?" Mystique responded.

"Oh, for crying out loud." Pyro didn't know what to make of this new development. "I thought he was supposed to clear that with Dr. Windsor beforehand?"

"Apparently, he didn't think it was necessary," Mystique told him. "And I don't expect that he will even if we bring this up with Dr. Windsor."

"So what do we do now?"

"I'm not sure yet. It all depends on what Creed comes up with."

"Creed?" Pyro looked puzzled. "What's he doing?"

"Groundwork—so to speak." Mystique activated her palmtop and searched for a secure link. When it was found, she used a frequency-jumping protocol to keep from being detected. "Sabertooth, report."

"_I've got nothing worthwhile so far, lady, so quit bothering me," _Sabertooth replied. _"If I get caught, we're all in trouble."_

"Where are you?" Mystique asked.

"_A secure location,"_ was Sabertooth's cryptic answer.

"Inside the DMA?"

"_Yeah, yeah. Now get off the line, lady. I've still got work to do." _Sabertooth signed off without bothering to ask for Mystique's permission. She consulted her palmtop as it pinpointed Sabertooth's location. She didn't know whether to admire his gumption or curse him for a fool.

"What's wrong, boss?" Pyro asked. "Where's Sabertooth?"

"He's in Dr. Windsor's office," Mystique said.

"What's he doing there?"

"Gathering intelligence." Mystique kept her palmtop. "I want to know where those Sentinels came from. My guess is that their launch base is within range of the DMA. I hope Creed finds it before anyone finds out what he's trying to do."

Pyro looked worried. "If any of Trask's men learn that he's trying to hack into the DHS database, they could trace it back here."

Mystique shook her head. "He's too smart to let that happen. That's the mistake people make when dealing with Creed. They think he's just some murderous beast. What they don't know is that it's all part of his game plan."

"Well, whatever his plan is, he'd better hurry or we're all going to be in trouble," Pyro commented.

"He'll come through," Mystique said. "It's his neck on the block too." She looked over at the Legal Building. "Come on. Let's head back before they wonder what we're up to." As they walked back to their post, she asked: "So how do things stand between you and Rogue now?"

"Huh?" was all Pyro could say in response.

"How are things between you and Rogue?" Mystique asked again.

"Well, I guess we're okay now," Pyro said. "We got to talk things over and settle things that needed to be settled."

Mystique allowed himself the barest hint of a smile. So that was something to be glad about. At least one good thing came out of this entire mess for Marie. "That's good," she said. "When this is all over, maybe you can ask her to go to Australia with you."

"Australia? What do you mean, boss?"

Mystique turned towards him. "I mean take her on a holiday back home, St. John." The use of his real first name clearly meant that she was serious. "Bring her to wherever you live there and just spend time with her."

"Tempting idea, boss," Pyro said. "I wouldn't mind it at all…"

"So ask her when this is all over," Mystique encouraged him.

"Maybe I will, boss—when we're done with this job," Pyro said. "I guess we've all earned some time for ourselves. And who knows? Maybe things will all turn out for the better."

"Now that's something I'd kill for," Mystique agreed. "Wouldn't you?"

"For that chance, boss, I'd kill for it too, I guess," Pyro told her. "And I'd even die for it, if I had to."


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter Eight **

Wolverine and Laura stopped near an access hatch. It was quiet down in the tunnel, except for the subtle hum of miniaturized servos that directed camera lenses at them. Wolverine couldn't see them all but he knew that the element of surprise wouldn't entirely be on their side.

"Well, this is it, kid," he whispered. "No turning back at this point."

"I won't turn back," Laura said.

"I know you won't." Wolverine gestured towards the hatch. "Whoever's up there will be expecting us to come through that point. They've probably got an ambush all set up and waiting for us."

Laura nodded. "They're waiting for us up there."

"How well do you know these tunnels?" Wolverine asked her.

"Well enough," Laura replied. "Why?"

"I need you to find your way out," Wolverine began but Laura said: "I'm not turning back."

"I know," Wolverine told her. "I want you to find a way into the building topside, you get me? I'll keep them distracted so that they don't spot you right away. You find Nightcrawler, Marrow, and the other prisoners and get them out."

"What about you?" Laura wanted to know.

"I'll find my own way out," Wolverine told her with a lopsided smile. "The important thing is to rescue their prisoners before they get killed."

Laura thought about that for a few moments and then said: "All right."

"Move out, kid," Wolverine told her. "In two minutes, I'm going up that hatch."

Laura nodded and started doubling back, seeking out pathways that would take her out of sensory range. Wolverine watched her and wished her luck. He knew that they'd both need it.

Michiko uttered a silent curse as the creature she and the other members of David's team were fighting avoided her rain of fireballs. It sidestepped, leaped atop a car, and launched itself towards her. Michiko waited for it to come close and sent a solid curtain of ice at it. With a smile of satisfaction, she watched it plummet down onto the rooftop of a nearby building. Gloria Muñoz drove the beast through the roof with a concetrated burst of gravitational force. It only had time to roar out loud before it disappeared in a cloud of dust and a shower of concrete.

"Nice shot," James Proud Star said. He hovered in the air right beside the two women.

"Thanks," Gloria said. "I hope that's the last we've seen of it."

Michiko spoke into her communicator: "Domino, this is Temper. Have you found Danger Zone?"

"_Negative, Temper,"_ was Domino's response. _"We're still searching the area where he may have landed when that thing hit him." _

Michiko grimly considered the news. David was somewhere below, most likely buried in rubble. They had to find him before they continued fighting their way Home…

"Look out below!" she heard James cry out. "It's still alive!" She looked at where the creature had fallen and saw it leaping out of the ruined building that had imprisoned it for a few minutes' time. The beast landed in the street, looked up, and bellowed defiance at them.

"_Temper, what was that?" _asked Evan over her communicator.

"Trouble that just won't quit," Michiko replied. "Keep looking for Danger Zone. We'll handle this." She signed off and swooped down, James and Gloria flanking him.

"What's it going to take to keep this thing down?" Gloria asked.

"Everything we've got," Michiko told her.

"What's going on?" Evan asked as Domino's conversation with Michiko was cut off abruptly.

"That thing we were fighting is still alive," she said. "That means we've got to double-time this."

"Yeah, but we can't dig through all these buildings to find Danger Zone," Jesse said. "Even with Evan's abilities, we won't be able to search through this entire neighborhood."

"Any luck, kiddo?" Domino asked Boo. She was kneeling in front of a mound of shattered glass, concrete, and steel. Her hand touched the wreckage and she closed her eyes.

"Nothing," Boo said, shaking her head. "He's not here, either. I can't sense him anywhere. I don't know if that means David is dead—"

"He's not dead," Evan said. "He _can't_ be dead. He's been hit harder than that, I've seen it, there's no way he's dead, Boo. _No way_."

Boo looked at Evan and saw the fear that was threatening to break loose from him. She gave him a little smile and said: "Like I said, I don't know if he's dead. I don't think he is but I can't find him." Just then, the ground shook beneath their feet.

"Damn, I don't like the sound of that." Domino unslung her weapon. She motioned for Boo and Jesse to take cover while she and Evan went to see how their teammates were doing.

"Come on," Boo said to Jesse. "Let's keep looking. They'll be okay."

"How do you know that?" Jesse asked.

"Because they're all good, that's how," Boo answered.

The hatch opened quietly. Two Hound Units approached it cautiously. In a matter of seconds, they were disabled. Wolverine was looking for any other Hounds when he heard someone call out to him: "Welcome, Wolverine. I've been waiting a long time to see you in the flesh. This is indeed an honor for me."

Wolverine watched silently as a woman wearing a samurai-style helmet and a long cloak that concealed the rest of her body stepped out from behind a pillar. "I am Madame Spiral, Wolverine. Or may I call you Logan?"

"Where are the Morlocks, lady?" Wolverine asked.

"Ah, to the point, I see," Madame Spiral said with a mocking smile. "I gathered that you're the direct type. Very well—since you are my guest, I suppose a little courtesy is in order." She turned slightly and gestured towards the back of the building. Lights came on and showed the location of the containment unit. "They're in there, Wolverine. All you have to do is free them so that you can keep them from…expiring."

"What have you done with them, lady?" Wolverine demanded, unsheathing his claws. "You'd better pray that nothing's happened to them or I'll—"

"If you stand there doing nothing but make idle threats," Madame Spiral interjected politely, "you won't be able to save them. Now, you've come here for a purpose so, please, let's get on with it, shall we?"

Wolverine advanced menacingly. "You won't last a minute against me." He charged but Madame Spiral somehow moved out of his path in the blink of an eye.

"How rude you are!" she scolded him with a laugh. "I'm your host, Wolverine. I won't be the one to confront you. I'm merely the mistress of ceremonies, if you like." She stood beneath a metal balcony. "Your opponent is up there." Again, lights came on with a theatrical flourish. Wolverine looked up at the balcony—and was stunned to see someone there who had no business being in the building, much less being alive.

"Hello, Logan," Lady Deathstrike greeted her old nemesis. Her smile held no warmth, only a fury that was now coursing like ice through her veins. Her eyes gleamed softly as they bore down on him. She leaped from the balcony and landed not six feet away from where Wolverine stood.

"I thought I left you at Alkali Lake," he said, keeping his eyes fixed on her.

"You did. Although, to be honest, I half-expected you to come back, you know," Deathstrike replied with a trace of disappointment in her voice.

"Why the hell would I come back for you?" Wolverine asked. "I had other things to do."

"To make sure I was dead." She unsheathed a sword and held it at the ready. Wolverine tensed, waiting for her to attack. They moved in circles, each one seeking a crucial point—and then, with lightning speed, Deathstrike launched herself at him, wielding her blade with precision and control. Wolverine matched her blow for blow, blocking her sword and slashing back with his claws. Sparks flew as their weapons met and clashed.

"Excellent, just as I expected," Lady Deathstrike remarked when they withdrew for the moment.

Wolverine returned the compliment: "You're not so bad yourself, considering as how you're supposed to be dead."

"Sorry to disappoint you in that regard, Logan." She attacked again but Wolverine easily held his ground and caught her sword in his claws. He locked the blade, making sure she couldn't remove it.

"You're disappointing me in a lot of ways, lady." Wolverine grinned and, with one quick movement, he snapped the blade in two, disarming her. He tossed the broken sword aside. "Looks like this fight's over—unless you really want to die this time."

Deathstrike smiled at him again. "I have no intention of dying, Logan. I simply want to collect what you owe me."

Wolverine was puzzled. "What might that be?"

"A life—for the one you took from me." With that, Deathstrike advanced in a flurry of hands and feet. Wolverine fought back but soon realized that he was giving ground. He dug in his heels, tried to advance, but was kept at a standstill. Somehow, she'd gotten stronger and faster—or at least, strong enough and fast enough to be a better match for him.

Madame Spiral watched from the same balcony where Deathstrike had waited for Wolverine's arrival. She felt a great deal of pride in seeing what she considered her greatest masterpiece in action. Her father, the Lord Dark Wind, had been one of her mentors when she was still starting out in the field of cybernetics. Madame Spiral considered it a repayment of a great debt of honor when she found the broken remains of his daughter and rebuilt it using the procedures that he kept secret from the rest of the world, even from those governments that benefited from his research in the use of adamantium. Now Lady Deathstrike was in the process of proving her father's more extreme theories. She was a magnificent sight to see.

_You would be proud of her, Professor Oyama,_ Madame Spiral thought to herself. _Your daughter does you honor._

Domino and Evan peered out from under cover and saw Michiko, Gloria, and James being held at bay by the creature they were fighting.

"Doesn't that thing ever stop?" Evan whispered. At that moment, the beast was able to grab James and tossed him high towards an open window. James flew through it like a basketball through the hoop.

"Warpath!" Gloria cried. She turned her attention back to the creature and levitated the remains of a truck off the ground. Then she compressed it into a ball of steel and sent it towards the beast, bulldozing it into the street and into another building. Temper didn't wait for it to get up and used a high-intensity burst of flame to melt the steel ball that had hit it, causing it to enrobe the creature. Then she cooled it to solidify the metal and prevent the beast from moving.

"That ought to hold it," Michiko was starting to say but the creature burst out of the metal trap and began hurling the twisted fragments at the two airborne mutants. Michiko immediately created an ice shield to protect them. "Risque, try using your gravity compression on it directly."

"Got it," Gloria said. She tailed slightly behind Michiko when she advanced on the beast with her ice shield. Then Michiko shattered her shield and sent the icicles towards the creature. While it was distracted, Gloria flew behind it and activated a gravity charge that surrounded the beast. She concentrated her efforts on trying to crush the creature, giving it every ounce of her strength. _I've got to do this…I can't let it win…_she told herself.

Once the creature sensed what was happening, however, it resisted furiously. Gloria struggled to hold it. After several minutes, it began to break free.

"Temper! Help me!" she cried out.

"Risque, get down—" was all Michiko could say before the beast threw what looked like a huge chunk of the sidewalk on which it was standing towards her. Then it turned on Gloria, who had fallen to her knees, exhausted.

"Risque! No!" Domino ran towards her teammate. Evan followed her. She opened fire on the creature, expending another magazine of armor-piercing rounds against it. The beast wrenched a crooked lamp post off the sidewalk and hurled it at the two mutants. Domino easily avoided it while Evan simply used his powers to shatter it into much metal filings. Then Evan concentrated on cracking the sidewalk beneath it, almost sending it into the sewers. The creature used its claws to hang on and dig itself out. Gloria took that moment to try and run but it took a glancing swipe at her that knocked her down. Evan dropped some rubble on it to disable it a little longer and then shouted at Gloria: "Gloria! Get the heck out of there now! Move!"

Gloria tried to respond but was still a bit stunned. The beast was slowly freeing itself from the rubble and would soon be after her again. Evan ran as fast as he could to reach her. Fortunately, James flew down to grab Gloria. The creature broke loose at that moment but Domino grabbed Evan and dragged him to safety. It glared at them and went in pursuit—but a wave of fire sent it back.

"Temper? You're all right?" Domino asked.

"_Damn monster has to do better than that to kill me,"_ Michiko replied. _"Are Risque and Warpath all right?" _

"Affirmative," James replied. "We're still alive."

"_Good. Take the others and leave me—I'll handle this thing."_

"Temper, I don't think that's such a good idea," Evan spoke up. "If we're going to beat that thing, we've got to do it together."

"_Have you found Danger Zone?"_ Michiko asked.

"No, Boo and Bedlam are still looking for him."

"_Get them out of here. With Danger Zone MIA, I'm the only one who can take this beast. You and the others have to reach Home before it falls." _

"Temper, no," Evan objected. "We can't leave you with that thing still rampaging out there."

"_Yes, you can. The mission is to help defend Home. If we don't succeed there, M-Town falls with it. I'll look for Danger Zone when I'm done with this thing. Now go—that's an order, Breakpoint." _

"Michiko..." Evan began but then he realized that she was right. As Danger Zone would say, their primary mission wasn't accomplished yet. That was their priority. They had to get to Home.

"_Danger Zone and I will join you as soon as we're done here," _Michiko assured him. _"Get moving, Breakpoint."_

"Got that," Evan said. "And Temper?"

"_Yes?" _

"Good luck. And be careful. We'll be waiting for you."

"_Roger that. Don't let those cyborgs or anyone else take home."_

"Right." Evan signed off and looked at his other teammates. Boo and Bedlam had rejoined them. James and Gloria were a bit worse for wear but still looked ready to fight. Domino had her weapons ready.

"Come on," he said. "Let's go and see what we can do at Home."

Ahab typed in a command or two on the console of his work station but otherwise just kept his eyes on his monitors. He had a view of the tunnels, a view of the fight between Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike, and a view of—something behind him. He turned, expecting to see Madame Spiral but saw that it wasn't.

He managed to ask "Who the hell—?" before the shadowy figure smashed his console with a fist. No, it wasn't just a fist—it was a fist with claws coming out of the back. It was followed by a kick sent him sprawling.

The shadowy figure stepped into the light. For a moment, he expected it to be Wolverine but he soon saw otherwise. It was his companion. The girl had claws like Wolverine but only two for each hand. She looked like a little girl dressed in an X-Man uniform. But the expression on her face was flat and deadly.

"I'm here for your hostages," she told him.

"Are you now?" Ahab said. "Well, you can't have them." He pressed a button on his wrist. From out of nowhere, three Hounds sprang upon Laura. Ahab got up with a smile on his face. His Hounds would make short work of this child that Wolverine had foolishly brought with him.

For the second time in less than half an hour, Ahab was surprised to see Laura eliminate his Hounds with little difficulty. She got up after stabbing the last one through the midsection and tearing it almost entirely open.

"Release the hostages or you die," Laura said emotionlessly.

"I don't think so," Ahab answered. He summoned his remaining Hounds. While they kept her distracted, he went for his harpoon. His console was pretty much ruined but he activated a silent alarm to alert Madame Spiral to the child's presence. Then he went to confront her himself, his harpoon at the ready.

"All right, girl," he said, "let's see just how good you really are, shall we?"

Laura snapped the neck of the last Hound standing. Then she turned towards Ahab. "All right," she said. "Let's fight."

He raised his harpoon high over his head and spun it. "You're going to die, child!" he declared. The harpoon swung down with inhuman speed. Laura watched it come down and then avoided it. She went in from a different angle and attempted another kick. Ahab blocked it with his harpoon. Laura bounced back, rolled forward, and clawed across Ahab's midsection. Only his cybernetic enhancements kept him from having his belly opened up and dripping guts.

"Why, you little…" Ahab aimed his harpoon at her. "I'm through wasting time on you." He activated his harpoon and sent several bolts of energy towards Laura. Ahab grinned, knowing that a single bolt would burn through her neural pathways, rendering her comatose or—even better—dead.

"Got you, didn't I?" he cracked. "That should teach you to—" before he could even complete his statement, he received his third surprise. Laura had apparently been able to evade his attack. She charged, ducked, feinted, and then rolled low and tight. Ahab's harpoon missed her head by inches. Her claws made short work of his left leg. He collapsed in an ungainly heap. He tried to get up using the harpoon as a crutch but Laura snatched it away. She impaled the remains of his work station with it. Then she returned and knelt over him.

"Release the hostages or you die," she said, the edge of her claws pressed to his neck. It was cybernetic, of course, but Ahab had no desire to have his head separated from his body.

"Very impressive, child," someone said. Laura looked behind her, making sure that the business end of her claws stayed close to Ahab's neck. She saw a woman wearing an armored helmet and a cloak approaching them. She actually had a smile on her face.

"Who are you?" Laura asked.

Madame Spiral stopped a few feet away from them. "I am Madame Spiral, child," she said. "Or should I call you…X-23?"

Laura didn't answer right away. Memories stirred inside her mind. She got up; Ahab dragged himself to safety.

"That is your name, isn't it?" Madame Spiral asked. "You're X-23."

Laura frowned. "How do you know that?"

"I know more about you than you know." Madame Spiral stepped closer. "You don't have to fight us, X-23. Join us instead. You can be of more use at my side than with Wolverine and the X-Men." She held a hand out towards Laura. She saw that it was sheathed in armor. "What do you say, X-23?"

Laura looked her in the eye and said: "My name is Laura…Laura Kinney." She sprang towards Madame Spiral but her attack missed. Madame Spiral dodged it with an almost lazy ease. Laura crouched, circled, and then attacked again. This time, her claws came into contact with Madame Spiral's arm. Sparks flew. Laura whirled and aimed a kick at her adversary; expectedly enough, Madame Spiral attempted to block it. Laura suppressed a smile, realizing that she'd fallen for her feint. Laura spun again but Madame Spiral dodged the sharp edges of her claws, which tore her cloak.

Madame Spiral examined the remains of her cloak, seemingly admiring how Laura had torn it to shreds. "Well, that was to be expected. I can see why HYDRA and Weapon Plus both want you, X-23."

"Stop calling me that," Laura said.

"That _is_ your name, whether you like it or not," Madame Spiral told her with a note of pity in her voice. "Sarah Kinney was the scientist who was in charge of your creation and development. She named you Laura and you looked to her as if she was your true mother. But you killed her, X-23. You killed her because you can't change what you are. And what you are is a killer, born and bred."

"Let the hostages go," Laura said. "Or I _will_ kill you."

"You can try, X-23," Madame Spiral said. "You're most welcome to do that. It will be interesting to see who kills who." She reached behind her and produced two short swords. She twirled them several times as if to intimidate Laura but the young mutant was seemingly unimpressed.

"Come, X-23—show me the killer that you are," Madame Spiral challenged her. "Show me what you were truly meant to be."

Michiko landed gently on the street after using an ice surge to immobilize the creature. She knew that it would be able to break loose but she needed time to meditate before the battle began anew. The beast stopped struggling for a moment and watched her, its nostrils flaring as if scenting something in the air.

"Looks like it's just you and I now," Michiko told it. "I promised Danger Zone that I wouldn't overtax myself but I have to stop you here. If you reach Home, the others will be in trouble."

The creature responded by breaking its way out of the barriers of ice that had confined it. Michiko stood up, her heartbeat racing and her temperature rising…until it evened out completely. The beast stopped its advance, as if sensing the increase in her power…then charged, fangs and claws bared to rend flesh. Michiko waited for it to come closer and then cocked her right hand back as if to throw a punch. But when she extended her arm, her fist generated what appeared to be a blizzard in miniature form. The blow knocked the creature off its feet. Before it could even so much as land on the street, Michiko followed it up with a rising pillar of ice that sent it skyward. Michiko flew after it and then drove a massive blow of cryogenic energy right into it, shattering the pillar and using its fragments to stab it in multiple places. When the beast hit the street, Michiko saw that it bore several wounds. The wounds healed immediately…but there were faintly visible scars now.

_Finally,_ she thought. _It's not invulnerable after all._ The creature came after her and she blocked its slashing claws and swinging tail, using ice shields to do so. She created another blizzard to cover her movement and flew behind the beast. Before it could react, it was pounded repeatedly with battering rams made of ice. The creature roared in pain and fury. It struck out blindly, smashing the ice around it. Michiko waited and swept it back with a howling blizzard in the form of a giant wolf. Michiko watched as her Blizzard Wolf swallowed it whole. Then she turned away, intending to look for David.

The minute her back was turned, however, there was a defiant roar and a wrecked car came flying towards her. She avoided it easily. The beast staggered forward and shook itself. Then it growled as if taunting Michiko.

"Now you're annoying me," she remarked before flying towards it, slowly creating a gigantic sword of ice that she swung at the creature with all her might. It caught the blade in its hands and began to dig in its heels to push Michiko back. She refused to give any ground and concentrated on cutting through the creature's hands with her sword. Unfortunately, as their struggle progressed, she noticed that her blade was starting to crack.

_Not a good sign_. Michiko wondered if she was reaching her limits. That thought was swiftly pushed aside, though, as a long crack crawled across the blade, causing it to break. The beast used that opportunity to throw her backwards. She twisted, landed in the street, and sprang back, turning the fragments of her blade into several swords with which she dueled and then stabbed the creature. Again, it cried out in pain. The sound pleased Michiko but she knew the fight wasn't over yet. She raised a hand, summoning another blizzard. This time, it took the form of a hawk. Michiko launched it at the creature. Its wings beat against the beast's face and its talons sunk deep into its shoulders. The beast fought back, clawing at the Blizzard Hawk. Michiko swept her hands upwards and the Blizzard Hawk carried the creature upwards and then plummeted down like a meteor until it hit the street.

Michiko watched the Blizzard Hawk dissolve. Then she landed on a ruined sidewalk and waited.


	25. Chapter 25

Warren stood still in mid-air, eyes closed, poised as if to ascend to the heavens. Then he opened his eyes and dove down like a bird of prey arrowing towards its quarry. Then he began to spin, slowly at first but picking up speed.

Sean felt him coming before he saw him. "I think we'd best move out of Warren's way, lass." Theresa glanced backwards and nodded. Father and daughter made way as a living tornado hurtled down towards the platoon of cyborgs that the other X-Men were fighting. Warren tore through the enemy's ranks with an almost elemental fury. The cyborgs were no match for him. When he was done, the street was littered with bodies and mechanical parts.

"Excellent work, lad," Sean said, joining his side. "That saves me and Tess wear and tear on our throats."

Warren was breathing heavily as he tried to recover his strength. "I hope that's the last of them, sir. I don't know if I can do that again." His spin flight was something he came up with during training sessions in the Danger Room with Storm. He wanted to incorporate his ability to fly in his fighting techniques so he worked out regularly with Wolverine, Tom Corsi, and Colossus to master the basics. When they were done whipping him into shape, Storm stepped in and taught him how to improve his flying. While watching Storm in action, Warren slowly began to duplicate her basic flight patterns and eventually expressed a desire to attempt her other techniques. That led to his formulating his spin flight maneuver. Although he couldn't match Storm in terms of speed or power, his move was no less effective. Storm and Wolverine, though, had to caution him continually about pushing himself too hard.

_At least it worked,_ Warren thought, his pride overcoming his tiredness. _At least we beat those cyborgs._

"Did you see that?" Riptide whispered to Arclight as they made their way as stealthily as possible to a prime vantage point. "That winged guy is good, isn't he?"

"Yeah, he is," Arclight said. "You want him?"

Riptide thought about it and shook his head. "Nah, I want the girl. Let Scalphunter have the girl's dad like he wants." He grinned evilly. "I'm going to enjoy slicing her into ribbons, piece by piece, in front of her old man."

"You're sick, Ripper," Arclight told him, using his well-deserved nickname. "Has anyone ever told you that?"

"Careful, babe—the boss might catch you flirting with me," Riptide replied mirthfully. "Then I'd have to kill him."

_You wish_, Arclight thought. She spoke into her communicator: "We're in position."

"_One minute to show time,"_ was Scalphunter's response.

"Copy that." Arclight turned to Riptide. "Get ready to—"

"Let her rip," Riptide finished her statement for her, barely suppressing the urge to giggle out loud. Arclight scowled at him; Riptide quieted down for the time being.

Michiko was about to congratulate herself for finally ending the fight when the creature emerged from pile of concrete and ice that buried it. It was staggering slightly she noted, and realized that it was hurt, however slightly that might be.

_How much longer can either of us continue?_ she thought. Part of her knew that she was reaching her limits. She'd been alternating her powers to keep from burning out but she knew that, to defeat the creature, she would probably need to use them simultaneously.

She hovered off the sidewalk, awaiting the creature's move. It snuffled and snorted, then let out a deafening roar. Then it charged her. Michiko dodged it and froze its feet to the pavement. Then she blasted it with a bolt of flame that would've melted a tank into slag. When she stopped, the creature's hide was smoking, burned, and blistered—but it was still alive. It ignored the pain and tore itself free of its restraints. Then it began to hurl whatever it could get its hands on at her.

Michiko weaved out of range of the creature's projectiles and then generated an ice field around herself. Then she rocketed towards the creature, plowing into it full force. The creature tried to halt its movement, using its feet as brakes. Michiko hammered at it with solid balls of ice. The creature got its feet in place and smashed her away. Despite her ice field, the blow almost made her swoon. She landed on a pile of rubble—_the entire neighborhood's turning into wreckage, _she thought absently—but got up quickly, sensing rather than seeing the creature's approach. Its claws dug furrows into the pavement. Michiko used an ice shield to uppercut it backwards. The creature retaliated by whirling and hitting her with its tail—or, at least, it tried to hit her with its tail. She shot out more flames at its tail and then froze the appendage. To her delight, the tail snapped off the creature's body and fell to the street in ice-coated fragments. It roared in pain and fury. Michiko knew she had to press the advantage home.

_Sorry, David,_ she thought. _But I have to stop this thing._ She began to focus her energy as she flew towards the creature, ignoring the warnings in her head.

Scalphunter counted down the seconds, letting the X-Men and their allies group closer together. Then he spoke into his communicator: "Now."

The Marauders sprang into action. Arclight assumed a kneeling position and took careful aim at Sean, Theresa, and Warren in much the same way she did when she used to undertake sniper duty for the CIA, among other employers. Then she released a powerful shockwave from her hands, directing it at the three airborne mutants. The blast caught them unaware—exactly as she hoped.

"_Nice shot, Philippa,"_ Vertigo said, using Arclight's real name. She was younger that most of the other members of The Marauders, except for Scrambler, and she looked up to Arclight as a kind of heroine and older sibling.

"Don't waste your chance, Vertigo," Arclight reminded her. From where she was positioned, Vertigo activated her disorientation wave. Her abilities weren't as outwardly destructive as Arclight's but anything that was caught as the field of psionic energy she was releasing would suffer anything from dizziness to nausea—or, if she hit them hard enough, she could also render them unconscious. One time, she was able to knock several anti-mutant thugs into comatose states. Sinister thought she had a great deal of potential and encouraged Arclight, Harrow, and Malice—the only other female Marauders—in teaching the young mutant how to better wield her abilities.

"_Your turn, Mr. Questad,"_ Vertigo said. Riptide smiled and thanked her with almost exaggerated formality. Riptide liked to joke that Vertigo had a crush on her and even flirted with her sometimes. The threat of death at the hands of Arclight, Malice, and Sinister, however, kept him from actually attempting to woo the young woman into his bed. Not that he had any intention, truth be told, but he had a reputation to uphold as a ladies' man equal—or, as he frequently boasted, _superior_ to the great Remy LeBeau.

Riptide rose and, still smiling, got ready to inflict more harm upon the X-Men and their allies.

At first Warren thought it was simply fatigue that sent him plummeting down to the street below. Fortunately, his reflexes took over and he was able to land on his feet. He quickly pivoted and caught Theresa in his arms.

"Thanks for the save, Warren," Theresa said. Her father was at her side in a heartbeat. "Are you all right, Tess?" he asked.

She nodded. "Yes, dad, but what hit us?"

"I don't know, lass. But I have a bad feeling—" His words were cut short when he saw Kitty, Bobby, Flinn, and the others go down as well. Then the street seemed to waver and twist underneath him.

"Sir! Get down!" Warren cried out and pushed Sean to the street, covering him and Theresa with his body. An overturned truck provided them with more than adequate cover as a rain of star-shaped objects flew threw the air and embedded themselves indiscriminately around them.

"Dad, what's going on?" Theresa asked.

"We've got bigger trouble now, Tess," was Sean's reply. _Greycrow_, his mind told him. It had to be. The wave of invisible force that knocked him and his two companions out of the air had to have come from Philippa Sontag—and where Sontag was, John Greycrow, a.k.a. Scalphunter, wasn't far behind.

Bobby tried to clear the cobwebs from his head as he struggled up from the street. Dimly, he heard Kitty ask him if he was all right.

"I feel like a steamroller ran over me," he was starting to say when Kitty dove on top of him. Seconds later, he saw something that looked like a _shuriken_ pass through him. Kitty phased them through the street and out under the cover of what looked like a relatively intact store.

"That was close," Bobby said. "What the heck are those things?"

"I don't know," Kitty said, "but I have a bad feeling there are some more bad guys out there." She peered out of the storefront's broken window and saw the _shuriken_ embed themselves in brick and concrete. She felt relieved that they had some protection but then realized that her teammates were still out there.

"Bobby—Hisako and the others…we've got to—" she was saying but Bobby said: "I'm way ahead of you. Stay here. I'll go get Mr. Flinn and the rest."

Kitty grabbed his arm. "Bobby, you can't do that alone. How are you going to keep from getting turned into ice chips by those things?"

Bobby transformed his body into full ice form. "I'll be very careful. Don't worry, Kitty. Just stay put, okay?" He went over to the door and tried it; he was relieved to find that it could still be locked. He got out of the store quickly and ran towards his teammates. The _shuriken_ flew through the air thick and fast. One of them tore a long gash across his uniform. Another hit his arm and got stuck there. Bobby pulled it out and tossed it aside, trying not to think about what his arm would look like when he turned back into flesh and blood.

Something tackled him by the legs and he fell through the street. He found himself back in the sewers. "You should be more careful, Bobby," Kitty told him.

"I told you to stay under cover," Bobby said.

"You would've been sushi if it weren't for me," Kitty retorted. "Besides, I couldn't let you get hurt."

Despite himself, Bobby had to smile. "All right," he said after a few moments. "Come on—let's get back up there and get the others to safety."

Hisako saw the _shuriken_ bouncing off her armor. She still felt the lingering effects of Vertigo's distortion energy but she steeled herself as she stood over her teammates and any other mutants or humans she could protect.

"Hisako…_Mãe de Deus__,_ what happened?" Roberto asked her.

"Something got us after Angel wiped out the tin men," Hisako replied.

A rain of _shuriken_ punched into the pavement nearby. "So I see," Roberto said. He powered up and got out from underneath Hisako. "Are you sure you're all right?" she asked him.

Roberto nodded. "Yes, thank you for asking." To prove his point, he swatted away another barrage of _shuriken_. "Keep _Senhor_ Flinn safe, Hisako! I'll see if I can—" His words were cut short by a blast of energy that propelled him a good seven feet away from where was standing. Hisako turned to confront whoever had shot Roberto and received an energy blast as well. Another wave of cyborgs was coming towards them fast. They split into smaller units led by some people she couldn't identify. One of them saw her and sent a large spear flying in her direction. Hisako deflected it easily. A quartet of cyborgs to her right began to fire upon her. She blocked them, making sure that Flinn was kept safe. Hisako picked up a broken lamppost and let loose a home-run swing that disabled her attackers.

"Nice move!" she heard someone roar before she was hit from behind. As she tried to get on her feet, whatever or whoever hit her began to pound away at her. Even through her armor, she could feel the force of the blows and was grateful that she was shielded from the worst of it. Then her attacker lifted her off the street and tossed her towards the stairs leading up to Home. Hisako landed hard but managed to tuck and roll into a defensive position. She got a good look at her attacker then: a massively built man wearing combat gear who was stalking up the stairs towards her. He beat his chest repeatedly as if psyching himself up for their confrontation. "Come on!" he challenged her. "I'll give you a chance to impress me! Come and try!"

Hisako stayed in her defensive position and began to calm herself. It was something she learned as a child. Before she started any activity, Hisako was taught to remain calm and to keep her emotions under control so that they would not overmaster her. It was a lesson that she applied well during her training in the Danger Room and it was a lesson she didn't forget even as her gigantic foe approached her.

_Stay calm, stay calm,_ she told herself.

"Last chance, X-Man!" her attacker bellowed.

_Come and get it,_ she thought. Her attacker charged—and was hit full on in the midsection by Hisako's fist, which she had extended farther from her normal reach like a battering ram. The giant fell onto the street away from Home.

"Nice move," someone complimented her. She looked to her left and was glad to see Flinn and Roberto there.

"Thanks," she said. "Are you two okay?"

Roberto cracked a smile. "Come on—let's see which one of us can cause more damage," was his response as he and Flinn ran back into the battle. Hisako followed close behind them.

Michiko paused for a deep breath and a fleeting thought came to her: _Will this be my last?_ Then she cleared her mind of all useless thoughts and attacked. The creature was hurt and, she hoped, tired. All she had to do was hold on a little longer and outlast it. She smiled wryly. In her present form, she wondered how long she _could_ last. She had activated both her fire and ice forms and her body was spilt evenly between both. The simultaneous use of her powers wasn't anything that she hadn't done before—in fact, it was a tactic she used whenever she and David were sparring—but it took a lot out of her. David warned her frequently not to attempt such a technique for an extended period of time except, perhaps, as a last resort against an incredibly powerful foe. In such an event, it wouldn't matter if she burned out, David joked, since she'd likely die eventually.

Michiko felt like laughing. David's joke turned out to be true after all. If Evan were there, he'd most likely say that she could die laughing because of it. But she had no intention of dying—at least, not until she defeated the creature. Fire and ice flew from her hands, sheathed her feet, and flowed through her as she assaulted the creature with greater intensity than she had brought to bear against it throughout their entire fight. It fell to its knees. She was about to take advantage of its weakness when it rose, using a large chunk of the pavement to shield itself from her offensive. It used its shield to drive her back.

Michiko broke through the shield before the creature could drive her back further. She struck it with two blades: one made of fire, the other of ice. The creature fought back with its claws. Their duel lasted until a head-on clash sent them flying apart. Michiko bounced off the roof of an abandoned car and fell to the sidewalk. She lay there, unable to move, for several moments.

_Get up,_ her mind commanded her body. _It's not over yet._ She had to hold onto the car to steady herself as she got to her feet. The creature was weaving on its feet, holding on to what was left of its left arm. Michiko's twin-blade attack had severed it at the point between the shoulder and the elbow. A savage joy filled her heart. Piece by piece, she was taking the creature apart. The creature spotted her and let out a blood-chilling howl before it ran and then leaped towards her. Michiko launched herself into the air and intercepted it, hammering it with surging flames and pounding hail. The creature fell to the street. Michiko hovered in mid-air, staring at it.

_Finish it, Michiko,_ she told herself. _Now. _She closed her eyes and concentrated on summoning her powers and raising them to their fullest. When she opened her eyes, she sent a spiraling firestorm and ice storm towards the creature like an intertwined pair of suicidal comets. The force of projecting both elements was enough to jar her but she held on, willing herself to not to stop until the creature was dead. She felt the twin storms hit their mark. Michiko silently rejoiced: she was winning and the creature would meet its end soon…then she could go help the others defend Home.

It took her a few moments to realize that her something was parting the twin storms. In disbelief, she watched as the creature pushed back against her might. Before she could even mount a proper defense, the creature burst through her field of fire and ice and grabbed her. It rammed its head at her but didn't let go. Instead, it hit the ground—with her to absorb their full impact. Without waiting to see if she was alive or dead, the creature beat her into the pavement. Then it picked her up and hurled her full-on towards a wall. She crashed through it. Before she could even stand, the creature grabbed her again and slammed her back at the remnants of the wall. She had a few seconds so she tried to activate her powers but they weren't working. She'd burned herself out.

Before the creature could close in on her, Michiko had just enough time to surround herself with a _qi_ aura that would prevent it from killing her. She would probably be injured severely but at least she could live to fight another day.

_If there is another day,_ was her last thought before the creature's iron grip fastened itself onto her.

Sean took to the air, still a little unsteady, but he managed. From his vantage point, he saw what he needed to see: Scalphunter was indeed leading the new wave of attackers. Warren didn't wait for any orders—he simply swooped down to engage the enemy.

"Warren, wait!" he called him. He was about to follow the young mutant but Theresa cried out to him: "Up, dad! Quickly! Up! Now!" Sean didn't think about it; he heeded his daughter's warning. Thanks to her, he narrowly missed getting hit by another shockwave.

"That was close, dad," she said. "I think I saw someone moving inside that building."

"I believe we've got unwanted company there, Tess," Sean remarked. "Time to send them packing, don't you think?"

"Right, dad," Theresa said. Together, father and daughter flew towards the building where Arclight and Vertigo were hiding. They let loose with twin sonic screams. The building began to tremble.

"Vertigo, get out—now!" Arclight ordered her subordinate. "Move it!"

"_Yes, Philippa," _Vertigo replied. She left her position and headed for a window. Soon she was out on the fire escape, making her way down to the street. Theresa spotted her and went after her. Sean covered her daughter, making sure that Arclight couldn't back up her teammate.

"Where do you think you're going?" she asked the young Marauder.

"Not with you, that's for sure," Vertigo replied. Before she could unleash her disorientation wave, however, Theresa used her subsonic scream and knocked her out. "One down, dad," she said over her communicator. "What about you?"

"_Our guest is being stubborn, Tess,"_ her father replied. He shook the building with another sonic scream. That got a reaction he didn't quite expect: Arclight jumped out of a window facing the street. Instead of being splattered all over the pavement, however, she used a low-level shockwave to cushion her fall. She landed on her feet—and saw Theresa hovering next to Vertigo's unconscious form.

"You're going down for that, kid," Arclight said. She sent multiple shockwaves towards Theresa. She tried to evade but was clipped by one and she fell.

"_TESS!"_ Sean glared at Arclight. "Sontag, you're finished!" He directed a sonic scream towards her. Arclight sent a shockwave his way. They effectively stymied each other—until Warren intervened and rammed into Arclight.

"Go check on Theresa, sir," he told Sean. "I'll take care of that one."

"Be careful, lad," Sean said as he went to tend to his daughter.

"Yes, sir," Warren said. He approached Arclight carefully, watching her for the slightest movement. She appeared to be immobile. _Did I throw hit her that hard?_ he wondered. Warren felt a pulse in her throat so that meant she was still alive. She'd need medical treatment, though. Down the street, the altercation involving Hisako, Roberto, Flinn, Scalphunter, Blockbuster, and their cyborg troops caught his attention—and that moment of distraction was all that Arclight needed. She opened her eyes just enough to make sure that Warren was within range. Her palm touched the sidewalk lightly.

_Wrong move, X-Man,_ she thought.

Warren felt the sidewalk vibrate. A few moments later, it exploded upwards and sent him into the air like a cork being popped from a champagne bottle. Fortunately, he was able to land on his feet. He was about to take to the air but Arclight stopped him with another shockwave.

"You and your friends messed with the wrong team, X-Man," she taunted him. She stood over him, relishing his helplessness.

"Did we now?" Warren asked, using his wings to strike her. The unexpectedness of his attack drove her back briefly but Arclight recovered. She grabbed one of his wings and sent a shockwave through it. Warren screamed as he felt bones break. Then Arclight slugged him hard, knocking him down.

Sean saw what happened to Warren and rushed towards him, sonic scream at the ready—but he was knocked down too, courtesy of a well-placed concussive-energy spear. Arclight turned around and saw Harpoon grinning. "That's one for me," he said.

"I've already got two," Arclight said. She saw Warren trying to stand and stopped him with a kick to the chest. "I'm about to make it three."

"Let me have a piece of this chicken, Arclight," Harpoon said.

"All right," Arclight told him, stepping back. "Show me what you've got in mind."

"This is a rare bird we've got here," Harpoon said, stepping closer to Warren. "You don't get a bird like this everyday." He gestured at Arclight to lift Warren. She picked him up easily. The bones in his wings grated and Warren saw what happened next through a red haze. Harpoon threw two spears at him. He thought that the Marauder was aiming for his torso. Instead, the spears loosed him from Arclight's grip and pinned him to the wall by his wings. Warren screamed out loud. The pain seemed to hold him fiercely in its grip.

"Did you use those electric-shock spears again, Harpoon?" Arclight asked curiously, watching Warren struggling to escape his predicament.

"Those are new ones," Harpoon replied proudly. "I loaded them with a psionic charge that magnifies the pain that they cause when they punch into a living target."

"You're starting to behave like Riptide," Arclight observed gravely.

"Well, sometimes, he's got a point," Harpoon said. "Besides, I can't think of anything better than watching an X-Man dying slowly and painfully."

"Good work, soldier," Arclight told him clapping him on the shoulder. She went over to the fire escape where Vertigo was slumped and brought her down.

"The other two X-Men did this to her?" Harpoon asked, taking the young Marauder gently from Arclight.

"She let her guard down," Arclight replied. "She'll have to learn not to do that."

Harpoon nodded. "You and Malice can handle that. I'll watch her and our trophy here. Go help Scalphunter and the others."

Arclight thanked him and ran off to join the other Marauders as they tried to battle their way into Home. Harpoon laid Vertigo down gently on the sidewalk and then tore the doors off a nearby derelict van. Then he picked up his teammate and placed her inside with a tenderness that belied his ruthlessness towards Warren.

"Rest now, little girl," Harpoon whispered. He produced a blanket with tribal markings and wrapped her in it. Then he said a silent prayer for healing in his language before taking up his post next to Warren's tortured form.


	26. Chapter 26

Wolverine ducked underneath Lady Deathstrike's kick and took her feet out from under her. She rolled out in time to avoid getting stabbed by his claws. A quick look at her surroundings told her that he was trying to corner her to limit her movements. Deathstrike smiled and allowed herself to be pushed back. When. When Wolverine charged, she leaped onto his shoulder, caromed of a wall, and struck him in the head with a kick that would've cracked the skull of an ordinary man. While he was dazed, she kicked him forward into the corner, bumping his forehead against the concrete. Before he could even turn, she delivered a solid blow to his kidneys. Then she got a hand on his spine. She was about to deliver a crushing blow but Wolverine backed her off with an elbow to the jaw. She fell and rolled backwards into a defensive stance with her hands behind her.

Wolverine had to admit: he was impressed. Whatever training she'd undergone since the last time he saw her and now, it was working.

"I never thought I'd say this, lady, but you've got me interested now," he said.

Deathstrike bowed slightly. "Thank you for the compliment."

"Too bad this ends right here," Wolverine said. Then he charged her, claws flashing under the building's interior lights. Deathstrike smiled slightly, pleased to see that she was finally drawing out Wolverine's rage. She had to tighten up her defense and get a little creative in getting some hits against him but it was certainly an improvement over sparring with Madame Spiral's cyborgs. The half-man, half-machine troops were strong but were not on the same level as Wolverine when it came to fighting. As if to prove her point, his claws arced out and she barely had the time to avoid having them slice into her head. The cutting edges whispered through the air, slicing off a few strands of her hair. She dodged a follow-up attack and pulled herself up onto a large piece of unused machinery that stood nearby.

Deathstrike ran a hand through her hair. "Well, I suppose I did need a haircut. But I'll have it done in Japan."

Wolverine laughed. "You should live so long." He jumped onto the machine and renewed his attack.

Madame Spiral had an approving smile on her face, much to Laura's anger. "You haven't lost a step, X-23. At least not too much," she told the young mutant. "Your body can't lie for you."

"Stop calling me X-23," Laura said, blocking her swords with her claws. She fell backwards into a roll and flipped Spiral away. Laura jumped back to her feet quickly but saw that Madame Spiral had already assumed a defensive position.

_She's fast,_ Laura thought. _Or is she?_ She circled Spiral, waiting and watching for an opening.

"Why are you wasting time, X-23?" Madame Spiral asked her conversationally as if they were in training rather than in actual combat. "Here—let me make it easier for you." She lowered her guard. "Come—kill me if you can."

Laura didn't attack. From the position of her weapons, she suspected that Spiral would be able to counterattack if she went on the offensive. Instead, she held her ground and simply inched closer to her opponent.

Madame Spiral laughed. "You amuse me, X-23." She threw her swords away. "There—now you can kill me."

Laura glanced at the weapons. They were far enough that Spiral would only be able to reach one even with her speed. The odds were a little better. Still…she considered several tactics within the span of a few seconds and made her move. She surged forward, a small whirlwind of fury, claws ready to stab and to cut.

Madame Spiral made no move to defend herself. But when Laura came within striking distance, she feinted to the side—and Laura saw what she was looking for. Her claws sliced into a small device mounted onto Spiral's belt. There was a small spark and a flash.

Spiral rolled to avoid a second attack. She picked up one of her swords. "Oh, excellent work, X-23," she commented. "So you recognize a stealth-field generator, do you?" She removed the device from her belt. "Truly, you are a masterpiece. Oh, you have your flaws but you _are_ a masterpiece." She sheathed her sword. "We don't have to fight, you know. I don't have to turn you over to Weapon Plus or HYDRA. Join me, X-23. You will have a place of honor with us."

Laura didn't even have to think about it. "I know where I belong. And it's not with you."

Madame Spiral shrugged. "As you wish, X-23." She ran for her other sword but Laura caught up with her and stabbed her in the midsection through her armor. Spiral gasped and fell to her knees. She tried to reach for her sword but failed.

"This fight is over," Laura declared. She walked away from Madame Spiral. She still had hostages to free and she'd wasted enough time. She hoped Wolverine was already finished with his battle.

Zack smashed two cyborgs into each other head-first. He turned around to deal with a new one but he was grabbed from behind and caught in a chokehold. Lucid, however, simply shot the cyborg in the head and freed him.

"Thanks," Zack told her, "but be careful where you aim next time." He felt a small crease on his neck and saw blood on his fingertip.

"Sorry," Lucid said before she resumed firing into the cyborgs. When she ran out of ammo, she scooped up a discarded mechanical arm and used it as a flail. She fought her way past two squads of cyborgs until she reached their leader.

"Well, well—what do we have here?" Harrow asked, unlimbering her blades. "This should be interesting." She leaped at Lucid, who attempted to block her with her improvised weapon. Harrow cut through the cybernetic arm she held much too easily for Lucid's taste. She immediately picked up a leg this time and brandished it like a huge club.

"Silly girl," Harrow said with a smile. "I can cut through anything—even you." She attacked and it was all Lucid could do to keep from being overwhelmed. She had never faced anyone quite as intense as Harrow. Harrow, for her part, was pressing her advantage to the utmost. If the intelligence she gathered was correct, Lucid was among the most dangerous of Home's defenders. Sinister had provided the Marauders with files on Home's defenders and Harrow knew that Lucid was one of the mutates who escaped from a Weapon Plus training facility that was being run by the Department of Homeland Security. That meant she was a force to be reckoned with—or, at least, she was supposed to be. Harrow was somewhat disappointed to see that she was quite obviously superior to her opponent. Then again, the alterations she underwent were certainly much more advanced that of Lucid and her fellow mutates.

"You take that one, Harrow—I'll take her friend!" Scrambler declared.

"Yeah? Come and get some," Zack dared him. He engaged the Marauder in hand-to-hand combat, relishing the chance to defeat someone better than the cyborgs he'd been thrashing. As their fight progressed, however, Zack began to feel weary, as if something was draining him. Scrambler, in the meantime, appeared to be moving much faster and hitting him harder. Finally, the Marauder broke through his defenses and delivered a kick that sent a sharp pain through his ribcage.

"Hah!" Scrambler said, combing his hair back with his hand, "not bad but not good enough to beat me!"

"Try me on for size, bozo," Guerra said, ambushing Scrambler with a kick to the side. Scrambler was forced back as Guerra delivered a combination of punches and kicks that buffeted him. Guerra managed to knock him down with a swift backhand to the face.

"You're pathetic, Scrambler!" Harrow called out to him, laughing. "Letting a girl beat you!" As if to emphasize her point, she swung her blade and hammered several cyborgs into Lucid.

"Hey, I'm just getting started," Scrambler said, rising. He spat blood onto the concrete. "Come on, girl—let's dance."

"It's going to be the last dance for you, creep," Guerra declared. She launched into another barrage of combinations. This time, however, Scrambler was prepared for it. He stayed on the defensive just as he did with Zack, exerting only enough effort to keep from getting hurt seriously. Scrambler was silently thankful for the sparring sessions he had with Harrow and Arclight. He studied martial arts when he was younger but his time with the Marauders not only improved his combat skills but allowed him to incorporate his mutant talent into his defense and offense.

It took a while but Guerra began to feel the effects of Scrambler's power. Like Zack, she felt herself growing weaker.

"What's the matter, sugar pie?" Scrambler taunted her. "Losing your touch? Don't tell me you're wimping out on me."

"Like hell!" Guerra yelled and charged but Scrambler avoided her easily. He grabbed her by the neck and squeezed lightly. It was enough to knock her out.

"Guerra! _NO!_" Zack got up from where he lay even as his ribs felt like they were grating against each other. He tried to fight but Scrambler simply caught his fist in his hand and Zack went down.

"Two down, Harrow," Scrambler boasted. "Who's pathetic now?"

"Showoff," Harrow whispered under her breath. Lucid somehow found a firearm and drew a bead on her.

"So long," she said and squeezed the trigger. Harrow simply turned the flat sides of her blades towards Lucid and spun them. The rounds ricocheted away from her, embedding themselves in the pavement—and in Lucid.

"Mine's down," Harrow said in a satisfied tone. She whistled loudly and a large pack of Hounds ran to join her.

"Time to finish off the rest of them," Scrambler said.

Bobby and Kitty huddled behind a wall of ice as Riptide let loose with another barrage of _shuriken_. Unfortunately, several cracks were starting to appear in the ice wall. "Did you get them all inside?" he asked her.

"Yeah, the kid was the last one," Kitty replied. While Bobby covered her, she phased the wounded around them back to Home, bringing them to Vital's makeshift emergency room.

"Good. Now we can stop that guy before he turns us into hamburger." He turned himself to ice once again. "Stay behind me, Kitty. When I count to ten, we rush him."

Kitty swallowed down her fear and nodded. "Got it, Bobby."

Bobby counted to five. Just then, the ice wall shattered. "Now!" he said and created an ice shield. He got up and ran towards Riptide. Kitty followed him closely. They were getting close to Riptide when a flash of light caught them by surprise. Bobby stumbled and Kitty fell on top of him.

"Nice move, Prism!" Riptide said gleefully. "X-Men, you're mincemeat!"

Instinctively, Bobby rolled over to make sure that Kitty was underneath him. He activated another ice shield. Riptide's _shuriken_ pelted it like hail.

"Let me help, you, Ripper," Prism said. Taking a page from Bobby's playbook, he turned his body into crystalline form and then began to activate the light he'd stored within him before they were deployed. Then he focused it through his hands, emitting a pencil-thin beam that began to penetrate Bobby's shield and, eventually, his shoulder. Bobby was unable to stop a cry of pain.

Kitty saw it and immediately phased them out of danger. Back in the abandoned store, Bobby turned back to human form and almost instantly regretted it. His shoulder felt like it was on fire.

"Hold on, Bobby, let me take a look," Kitty said, taking her first-aid kit from her belt. The wound was still fresh but it was effectively cauterized by Prism's laser. Fortunately, that meant the possibility of infection was low.

"Man, that hurt," Bobby said between clenched teeth.

"You want me to get you inside, Bobby?" Kitty asked.

Bobby shook his head. "Nope. Those guys are going to gang up on the others if we don't help them." He turned into his ice form. "There…that should keep the pain down."

"Bobby, I don't want you to get hurt protecting me out there," Kitty said, holding his hand in hers.

"It comes with the territory, Kitty," Bobby said, trying to alleviate her fear. "Besides, you've saved me twice so fair's fair." He stood up. "Now come on—the others need us."

Michiko struggled to open her eyes. The world seemed to be covered in a gray haze. Then the world was blotted out as she creature picked her up with its massive hand and slammed her against a wall. It let her go and she fell to the sidewalk. Her _qi_ field was doing its work well but, she thought with irony, perhaps it was why the creature wasn't leaving her alone. Perhaps it could sense that she was still alive.

She tried to activate her powers once more but it didn't work. She had expended most of her strength and was simply hanging on by sheer force of will.

_I failed, David,_ she thought. _I'm sorry._ The creature picked her up again and licked its lips with an obscenely reptilian tongue. Then its jaws gaped wide open to give Michiko a good view of rows upon rows of teeth like a shark's—or maybe an _oni_. Those teeth were about to clamp down around her skull when a voice cut through her drifting consciousness: _Apology accepted—although I know you did your best so there's nothing to be sorry about, is there?_

_David…?_ She wondered if she was imagining things. The creature's maw was about to engulf her—when something stopped it. Through the gray haze of pain that enveloped her, Michiko saw something—no, someone standing between her and the creature.

Whoever it was turned slightly and—despite the pain and the weakness, her heart leaped—she saw David, his arm fixed between the creature's teeth.

"I told you not to overexert yourself," he said chidingly. The creature dropped her but David caught her. Then he flicked his arm—just a casual flick, no extra force involved, but the creature flew several yards away and landed on a wrecked SWAT van.

"Are you all right?" David asked Michiko, cradling her gently and stepping inside a relatively sheltered spot. He took something out of a pouch on his belt—a cushion of some kind—and lay her down on it. Then he knelt over her and his hands began to glow. She could feel him repairing the damage to her _qi_. Not enough to fight but enough to help her recover from her injuries.

"Sorry if this is the best I can do," David said and behind his face guard, she knew he was smiling. "I ran out of magic beans." He laughed softly and Michiko, despite herself, laughed along with him. After a while, he stood. "There—that should do." Then he put some kind of protective aura around her.

"Where are you going?" she asked.

"To finish that thing off," David replied. "You stay here and rest."

Michiko nodded. "Be careful, David."

"I will," he promised. He stepped out of their shelter and saw without surprise that the creature was already on its feet. He noted that it had lost an arm. _Score one for you, Temper,_ he thought with more than a little pride. He walked closer to the creature. It growled low in its throat as if trying to assess whether he was a threat or not.

David stopped a respectful distance from it. "I don't know if you can understand me. I assume whoever deployed you can hear me, though. I know you're a Predator created to hunt down metahumans and destroy them.

"I have to thank you, you know that? Because for the first time in a long while, you made me take you and this fight we're going to have seriously." The creature cocked its head, clearly unable to comprehend what David was saying.

"Okay—maybe just a _bit_ seriously. I have other things to do, after all."

The creature stepped back as bluish wisps of energy began to emanate from David's form. It tensed, readying itself for the coming confrontation.

"Come on—let's finish this," David said.

The creature roared and charged. David stood where he was and waited for it.

"Don't you ever give up?" Scalphunter asked as he and Flinn tangled with each other.

"Nope," Flinn replied. "Not until you're behind bars, Greycrow." He batted aside one of the metal clubs that Scalphunter was using and slugged him in the chest. Despite his armor, the Marauders' leader felt the blow. He returned the compliment by blocking Flinn's next blow and landing one to his ribs.

Meanwhile, Roberto and Hisako were holding their own against Blockbuster. The monstrous Marauder couldn't advance as he was being attacked from two sides. Still, his toughness was allowing him to absorb some pretty hard hits. At one point, he managed to throw Roberto into an abandoned pickup truck. Hisako tried to grapple him down but Blockbuster merely tossed her off him. Before he could do some more damage, however, Roberto rammed him, knocking him onto his back. Hisako got up quickly and grabbed the Marauder. Without hesitation, she slammed him into the street, causing the ground to shudder.

"Looks like you're the only one left, mister," Roberto told Scalphunter.

"Guess again!" Arclight yelled, sending a shockwave towards Roberto. The young mutant was nearly wrapped around one of the few lampposts left standing.

"Roberto!" Hisako cried. She was about to run to him when she felt a hand grab hold of her ankle.

"Where do you think you're going?" Blockbuster asked, grinning madly. He yanked hard and Hisako fell. Before she could even recover from the fall, the massive Marauder was stomping her head into the concrete. "I'll crush you like a bug!" he bellowed.

Flinn glanced over at Hisako and knew that he had to help. Then he spotted Scrambler and Harrow making their way to Home's front door without much opposition. _No! If they get in there, it's going to be a bloodbath! _Scalphunter easily capitalized on his distraction by firing a charge of electricity into him using one of the many devices in his arsenal. Flinn went down, groaning in pain.

"Home's ours!" Scalphunter declared. Riptide, Prism, and Arclight went to his side as he prepared to march into M-Town's main sanctuary.

"Not while we're around!" Bobby retorted. He used a blast of ice to pin Arclight to where she stood. Riptide was about to react but Kitty reached up from under his feet and pulled him down, trapping him in the pavement like a prehistoric beast stuck in tar. Unable to spin, Riptide couldn't launch his _shuriken_.

"Two of you against three of us," Blockbuster said. "Even odds—but not for long, right, guys? Let's smash them!"

Prism was about to fire his lasers at Bobby but Roberto caught his attention by dropkicking him into a derelict car.

"You'll pay for that, kid," Prism said. He charged up his energy to the max and poured them towards Bobby. "Let's see you fry in my solar charge!"

"Thank you, sir," Roberto said with a grin. "That's just what I needed." The solar power that Prism was infusing him with allowed him to shake off the aftereffects of Arclight's shockwave. He rushed Prism and shattered his crystalline form with a series of hammering blows.

"Looks like the odds are in our favor now, _sim_?" Roberto asked.

"Wrong, X-Man!" Scalphunter said, pressing a button on one of his gauntlets. Another army of Hounds came pouring out of the side streets. "We have an entire army of cyborgs waiting and ready! You think we hadn't planned for this?"

"Oh, good—I thought we wouldn't have anything left to do." The look of confidence on Scalphunter's face darkened when he saw Domino and her crew arriving. Luckily, at that moment, Arclight had broken free of the ice that had entrapped her.

"Who the heck are—Evan?" Bobby couldn't believe it. It was his former classmate Evan Daniels. "Evan, is that you, man?"

"Long time no see, Bobby," Evan said, smiling. "You too, Kitty. Is this a private party or can anyone join the fun?"

"Man, are you a sight for sore eyes," Bobby said. The remaining X-Men formed up around him. "And in the nick of time, too."

"We'll handle the Marauders and their pets," Domino said. "Take care of your friends and keep those guys from breaking into Home." Bobby looked at where she was pointing and saw that Scrambler, Harrow, and the Hounds were making short work of the defenders who still stood between them and Home.

"We have to rescue Hisako," Kitty said. She was in danger of losing her armor if she slipped into unconsciousness.

"We'll handle that," Roberto said. "You two stop those two."

"Boo, Jesse—go with them," Domino told their two youngest members. "And be careful."

"Right," Boo said. "Come on, Jesse." She took the young mutant by the hand and they followed Bobby and Kitty.

"All right, Greycrow—let's settle this," James Proud Star said.

"Any way you want, Proud Star," Scalphunter answered him. "Any way you want." He raised his arm and the Marauders charged, accompanied by their Hounds. Gloria Muñoz and Evan took the point. The two teammates didn't need to speak. Gloria took the left; Evan handled the right. Arclight moved to the center of their formation so that she could defend against both of them. Scalphunter took out two tomahawks. James had his knives ready.

The streets shook as the two teams collided.

Laura stood in front of the containment unit where Madame Spiral's prisoners were kept. She found the intercom and pressed the TALK button. "Is there anyone there?" she asked.

"Wh-who's out there?" someone replied. The voice was faint but Laura recognized it as Marrow's.

"It's me, Marrow," Laura said. "It's Shiraku—I mean, Laura. I'm here to get you out."

"Laura?" The relief in Marrow's voice came through the intercom. "The X-Man…Nightcrawler…he's hurt…"

"Don't worry," Laura said. "We'll get you all out of there—" Just then, Laura ducked. One of Madame Spiral's short swords pierced the intercom's speaker. Laura turned and saw her foe standing, her remaining sword in her hand.

"You're still alive," Laura said reflectively.

"Apparently so," Madame Spiral said. "I'm harder to kill than you expected, X-23. I hope you're not disappointed in your abilities."

"Not really," Laura answered. "I'll just try harder."

"Yes, I suppose you will," Madame Spiral said. She looked down at her belt. "You've destroyed my stealth-field generator but I won't need it anymore. I suppose it's time we took each other seriously, don't you think?"

Laura shrugged. "You talk too much." She ran towards Madame Spiral with her arms extended like wings and her claws unsheathed. When she came within range, she spun and twirled, cutting the air between herself and her opponent until her claws came into contact with Spiral's sword. Despite having just one weapon, she fought well, keeping on the defensive so that Laura would expend energy while she conserved hers. The young mutant, however, knew better so she kept her movements free-flowing so as not to waste any motion.

Madame Spiral sensed her strategy and adjusted her own. To an observer, it would seem as if they were engaged in an elegant dance. Their every move was both action and reaction, formalized yet improvised. Each sought to pierce the veil set up by the other's motion while keeping themselves protected. Laura, smaller and quicker, would lunge every few moments but Madame Spiral, more experienced and stronger, was able to keep her at bay.

In another part of the building, a similar dance took place. Both Wolverine and Lady Deathstrike followed the patterns set by their two counterparts and added new movements. Their eyes tracked one another, waiting…waiting…

Wolverine saw his chance. He moved in close and was able to grab Deathstrike's hand. He grappled her and the only chance she had to escape was to expose herself to his claws. He knew it and he took it: his claws slashed across her jacket, scarring her body armor, and wounding her face. Wolverine kept his grip on her hand and got the other. Now he had her immobilized. His face was inches from hers.

"I'll make you a deal, lady," he told her. "You and your friends leave; the prisoners stay. We all get to live. What do you say?" He knew he didn't have to fear her own claws, even if she unsheathed them. Her hands were in a rather awkward position.

Deathstrike appeared to think about it and then smiled. Wolverine didn't like the look of that smile.

"I decline your offer," she said. Wolverine heard the sound of something sharp cutting through flesh—and then felt pain. He instinctively pushed Deathstrike away. Standing a couple of feet away from her, he saw that she had four claws sticking out of the back of her left hand, the one that had been bent back against his torso.

"What—what did you do to yourself?" he asked. His hand touched blood coming from his chest. Fortunately, his healing factor was kicking in and sealing the wounds in his flesh.

"Consider them an improvement, Logan," Deathstrike said, her own healing factor wiping her face and her torso clean of the marks left by her foe's claws. "An upgrade, if you will." She unsheathed another set of claws from the back of her other hand.

"Whoever did that to you had a sick sense of humor," Wolverine commented.

"I thought you might appreciate the joke, Logan," Deathstrike said. "Consider it a professional courtesy—a compliment. After all, isn't imitation supposed to be the sincerest form of flattery?"

"Keep your compliments," Wolverine said. "Your flattery is something I can do without." He assumed another fighting stance, poised between defense and offense. "Come on—show me what else you've got."

"With pleasure, Logan," Deathstrike told him, bowing slightly. The dance resumed, this time in deadly earnest. The stakes and the rules had changed. But both of the participants were still determined to come out the victor.


	27. Chapter 27

David watched the creature advancing. Despite the fact that it was intent on killing him, he couldn't help but admire it. It was an incredibly well-designed bioweapon. Its skin, he knew, was infused subdermally with mercury or a similar substance, which allowed it to shrug off both physical and directed-energy attacks. Whoever had commissioned the creation of the Predator surely spent a fortune in order to bring this murderous masterpiece to life. He felt proud of Michiko again for being able to remove its tail and half its left arm.

He grinned underneath his mask and charged towards the creature. Then he jumped upward, landed, and began to spin. The creature stopped uncertainly, wondering what was going on. David continued to spin in place like a twister that had gotten stuck in the street. The creature roared and raised its claws into the air.

David's grin grew wider. He rocketed off the street and struck the Predator's jaw with a solid left hand. He followed it up with a barrage of fists and kicks that backed the creature up until another twisting punch knocked it off its feet.

"Fifteen – love!" David cried out merrily. "Come on, Pred! You have to do better than that now that I'm serious!"

The creature got up and attacked again. David leaped out of the way of its claws and went high. The Predator tried to jump after him. _Perfect,_ David thought. He reached the apex of his jump and descended with a savage kick to the face of the creature. It hit the pavement and David bounced off, using the creature's body as a trampoline.

"Take _that!_" David declared. The creature rose slowly and David could see some kind of fluid coming from its nose. _Blood or organic mercury,_ David reckoned it to be.

The Predator roared—whether in pain or anger, David couldn't tell. _On the alert,_ he reminded himself. _This thing's not done yet._ But he couldn't deny that he was enjoying himself.

The creature charged, moving much quicker than before. David had to get a bit creative with his footwork to avoid its attacks. He was nearly pasted to a wall when the Predator attempted a head butt. The cinderblocks collapsed upon impact.

"Good," he said as it pulled its head out of the ruined wall. "You're fighting back. This won't be a waste of time." The creature had just turned to face him when he went on the offensive again, moving with incredible speed to knock the Predator through the remains of the wall and into the wreckage of the building behind it. The creature fought back, sending David out of the building with a well-placed kick. It came after him but he twisted and backflipped like a gymnast, allowing him to hit the ground on his feet. His boots allowed him to brake to a stop before catapulting into the air. The creature followed but just missed catching him.

David smiled as he came down. He surged into the Predator, unleashing a wave of attacks that targeted its midsection and face.

Michiko saw it from where she sat, peering out of the building that sheltered her. At least, she saw most of it—David was moving so quickly that he was almost like a blur even to her trained eyes. _If I were to measure his speed right now,_ she thought, _he'd be at the supersonic level, perhaps._ His attacks were also much stronger. Part of her said proudly that he was faring well against the creature because she had weakened it. But another part of her knew that he'd been training much harder than Evan or her. He didn't mind that the Predator was trying to kill him; in fact, he seemed to be giving it every chance to fight back.

_Typical,_ Michiko thought. _Watch yourself, David. Don't let your guard down. _

* * *

Boo and Jesse were halfway up the stairs leading up to Home's front door when Boo stopped.

"What's wrong?" Jesse asked.

"Someone's hurt over there," Boo pointed down the street to her right. "We've got to help them."

Jesse nodded. "Okay. But how do we get past all the fighting?"

"This way," Boo said. Her grip on Jesse's hand grew firmer. A few moments later, he noticed that they were starting to become transparent.

"Boo, what are you doing?" he asked, alarmed.

_Sorry about that,_ Boo replied. _But this will keep us from being detected. At least, I hope it does. _

"It feels…strange…" Jesse looked down at his hands and had an unnerving vision of the stairs through them. It was like being a ghost.

_By the way, I can't speak with you normally but I can pick out your thoughts,_ Boo told him. _I can communicate with you telepathically so don't worry. Now, let's go—but stay close. The effect only lasts as long as you stay close to me or if I touch you. _

"Okay," Jesse replied. "Let's go see who needs our help."

* * *

Harrow and Scramble were almost at Home's front door when they were stopped by a wall of ice. Bobby and Kitty appeared from it like phantoms.

"This is getting tiresome," Harrow remarked and urged the Hounds forward. Bobby froze them into place easily. Then he unleashed an ice blast against Harrow. She spun her two large blades to form a shield against his attack.

"Are you just going to stand behind me all day or are you going to help?" she asked Scramble.

"Are you going to let him attack all day or are you going to counterattack?" Scramble retorted.

Harrow smiled. "Move when I tell you to."

Scramble nodded. "Got it, Harrow." He had an expectant grin on his face. Harrow waited and closed her eyes. Then she yelled: _"NOW!"_ She adjusted the angle of her blades and sent Bobby's ice blast back towards him. He pushed Kitty aside and took the full brunt of it. His ice blast instantly froze him solid.

"Tsk, tsk—looks like your boyfriend's gone cold on you," Scramble said, laughing maniacally. "Maybe I can warm you up, little honey?" He tried to close in on Kitty to embrace her but she melted into the stairs, reappearing behind him.

"I'd rather hug a pig," Kitty said, delivering a solid kick to his ribs. Despite having a size advantage, Scrambler actually felt the blow and staggered backwards. Kitty followed it up with fists and feet flying, connecting against Scrambler's torso. The Marauder fell.

"Scrambler, you're useless," Harrow said. "Looks like I'll have to take care of her—" She stopped when the pillar of ice that had been Bobby assumed human form once more.

"Pick on someone your own size, lady," Bobby told her. His hands became ice blades.

"Fine," Harrow said. "She's next after I deal with you."

* * *

Jesse was horrified when he saw Warren impaled against a wall. Boo was considerably less upset but immediately told him that they had to get the X-Man down. Boo returned them to their solid form.

"How do we get him down?" Jesse asked. He couldn't draw his eyes away from the two harpoons that kept Warren's wings pinned to the concrete behind him.

Boo looked at Warren. He was still and, for a few moments, she feared that he was dead. But when she closed her eyes, she could still hear his heartbeat, albeit faintly. "Step back, Jesse," she said. Jesse did so and then Boo looked up at Warren and extended a hand towards him.

"Deactivate the harpoons, Jesse," she told him. "They're killing him."

Jesse concentrated and stretched out his electromagnetic field, keeping it at just the right level to render the harpoons useless. "Done," he said.

"Thank you," Boo said. "That was very well done, Jesse." She closed his eyes. A few moments later, the harpoons came off Warren's wings. Boo kept him up against the wall and lowered him gently onto the sidewalk.

"That's better." Boo knelt over Warren, placing a hand on his chest. He was alive but required medical attention. She could heal him enough to keep him alive for a time but, if he wasn't brought to a hospital, she knew that there was a high possibility that he would die.

"Boo—look." Jesse had spotted the two other X-Men who were injured along with Warren.

"Three casualties," Boo remarked. "We need to get them out of here." She asked Jesse to keep watch over Warren and went over to Sean and Theresa. When she was sure that they could be moved safely, she brought them to the sidewalk and laid them next to their teammate.

"We should keep them under cover," Jesse suggested. "This place looks like it's still standing." He gestured towards the apartment building next to them.

"Okay, let's make them comfortable," Boo was saying but a glance to her left made her cry out: _"Jesse—Hounds!" _

Jesse got up and assumed a defensive stance. Eight Hounds were advancing on them menacingly. "Stay back, Boo—let me handle them." He charged up his EM field and waited for them to advance. The Hounds formed a semicircle around him and his teammate. Jesse watched them carefully. The indicator lights in the eyes of one Hound turned red—and it pounced.

Jesse held out a hand as if to stop it and his EM field engulfed the Hound. Almost immediately, it fell to the street and began to convulse in an almost organic way. Then the lights went out in it eyes.

_One down,_ Jesse thought. _Seven to go. I hope I can hold them all off until help arrives. _

Boo moved quickly as Jesse stood guard against the cybernetic hunters. She used her psionic abilities to bring the three X-Men into a room on the ground floor of the apartment building.

_I'll be right back,_ she told them. She was about to go back out when she sensed something that nearly made her heart leap with joy.

* * *

David stood a distance away from the Predator, catching his breath. The creature looked much the worse for wear. It took a little longer for it to stand this time and he knew that the fight was almost done.

He was about to advance when he heard Boo call out to him: _David? You're alive? _

David ducked a blow that would've taken his head off if it had connected. _Yes, Boo. I'm alive. _

_What about Michiko? _Boo wanted to know.

_She's all right,_ David replied. _How are the others? _

_They're here and they're fighting. _Boo paused. _Jesse and I found three of the X-Men. They've been injured. _

_Hang on, Boo,_ David said. He grabbed the Predator's ankle as it tried to deliver a kick. He spun around a few times before tossing the creature into an overturned SUV. Then he resumed his conversation with Boo: _How badly are they injured?_

_The one with wings is in serious condition,_ Boo reported. _The other two are unconscious but they'll recover. _

_Try and contact Zee Culloden,_ David said. _I'll be joining you in a few minutes. _

_All right. David,_ Boo said.

_Three casualties from the X-Men…Greycrow and his Marauders were out for blood._ David deflected another attack from the Predator. He threw it into the air and leaped after it, smashing a fist into its midsection. The creature fell. "This has been fun," he said "but now it's time to end this." The Predator got up on wobbly legs. David grinned. In the blink of an eye, he smashed into it and drove it backwards down the street where they were fighting. The creature, however, managed to skid to a stop and pushed David away. He bounced off his hands and onto his feet. The Predator was already almost on top of him when he saw it.

_Perfect,_ he thought. He waited for it to draw nearer…and then twisted out of the way of its claws, curving under the arc of its attack. His punch was powerful enough to unhinge the Predator's already injured jaw. Its mouth fell open.

"_GREAT!" _David cried out triumphantly. _"Burn it up, baby!"_ He stuck his left arm halfway into its mouth. The look on the Predator's face was the closest expression to surprise that it could manage. It changed to an expression of bewilderment as David let loose a surge of flame that blew through its body. The creature tried to roar as it was roasted from the inside. David didn't let up until the flame melted a hole in the Predator's stomach. David withdrew his arm and leaped a safe distance away to watch the creature's final moments. Several moments later, the only thing that remained of the Predator was a pool of molten slag and melted flesh. Fortunately, David's mask protected him from the acrid smell of the creature's remains.

_That's taken care of,_ he thought. _Now I have to see to the others. _He walked back to where Michiko was waiting. "Nice work," she told him.

"Thanks," David replied. "I'm glad that you softened that beast up for me. It was harder than I expected."

"You're being modest again," Michiko said. "You handled that thing easy. I guess if you'd been _really_ serious, it wouldn't have taken you this long."

David shrugged. "I had other things on my mind." He bent down and picked up his teammate.

"I can walk, you know," Michiko told him as he carried her away from the ruined neighborhood.

"Yeah, well, I can carry you," David remarked. "You're not that heavy. Plus you're injured."

Michiko was about to protest that she wasn't as badly hurt as he thought but decided not to. Instead, she changed the subject: "Were those new techniques you used?"

"Not really…they weren't actually martial arts techniques," David replied.

"Those weren't martial arts?"

Inside his mask, David grinned. "Nope. Those were tennis moves."

Michiko looked up at him with disbelief plainly writ large across her face. "You're kidding."

"To be honest, those were tennis moves that I adapted for martial arts," David explained. "It wasn't easy and I didn't really get to use them that often. But I'm glad they worked."

"What kind of tennis player uses moves like those?" Michiko asked.

"I met them in Japan. I'll introduce them to you one day. Believe it or not, they're just kids."

Michiko was quiet for a while and then she said: "You're just making this all up, aren't you?"

David looked down at her. "Maybe I am."

"How's your arm?" Michiko asked a few moments later.

"It's fine. I was wearing my full armor," David said. "That thing's teeth couldn't punch through."

"I was wearing armor too," Michiko pointed out to him. "Wait—are you wearing the experimental armor?" Some time ago, David and some members of the Mutant Underground movement raided a secret facility where restricted anti-metahuman technology was being developed. David and his cohorts destroyed the facility after liberating some of the metahuman test subjects and removing some of the equipment and weaponry that they'd found. Among the equipment was full combat armor based on one of the "Future Armed Forces" programs that the DOD had to cut after funding ran low. Hiro Takachiho modified the armor, creating several variations that David usually field-tested himself before allowing his teammates to wear them.

"Uh, yeah," David admitted. "I figured that if I was going to test them, this would be a good time and place to do it."

"You're crazy," Michiko scolded him. "What if that thing's teeth had penetrated your sleeve? You'd be short one arm like it was."

"Hah!" David scoffed. "I've got a left arm made of steel, remember?"

Michiko looked at him disapprovingly. "One of these days, David…" He shrugged. She wisely let it go; he was like that sometimes.

"Let's see if we can hitch a ride or something." He activated his communicator. "Zee, Danger Zone—copy?"

"_Copy, Danger Zone," _Zee replied. _"What can I do for you?"_

"I've got four casualties for evac, Zee," David said.

"_Copy that, Danger Zone," _Zee replied. _"Coordinates?"_

David gave his location and Zee fixed a rendezvous point.

"I don't need to be taken out of here on a stretcher, David," Michiko protested but David countered: "Not according to your _chi_, Temper. You're not fighting until you're up to seventy-five percent."

"I can fight at _sixty _percent and you know it."

"Not this time," David told her. "You've done enough, Michiko."

"_Danger Zone, ready for pickup,"_ Zee broke into his communicator. David acknowledged her message. A few minutes later, he was on the rooftop of a building that was a safe distance away from ground zero. The Blackbird hovered a few feet away. He boarded the aircraft and took Michiko to the small sickbay aft of the Blackbird. "Rest now," he told his teammate, laying her down on one of the beds. He closed her eyes and his hand glowed blue again. Then he stood up and went forward.

"How bad did Temper get it?" Zee asked as the Blackbird rose.

"Not too bad," David said. "She'll live. But we've got two more down that we need to pull out ASAP."

"Piece of cake," Zee remarked. "With this baby fueled up, we should be able to get everyone out of there before things get worse."

"That's good," David was saying when a gigantic armored humanoid figure filled the Blackbird's windscreen. Its hands were outstretched, palms up, towards the aircraft. Neither David nor Zee considered the gesture to be non-threatening.

One of the Blackbird's monitors alerted them to an incoming transmission. The giant's face appeared on-screen as it spoke in a voice devoid of inflection: _"This area is now under federal jurisdiction. All unauthorized aircraft are to seek another flight path immediately. This is your last warning."_

"What the hell," Zee said. "Is that what I think it is?"

"_You have sixty seconds to leave this area," _the armored giant warned them.

"Turn this tub around and find us someplace to park, Zee," David said. Zee nodded and flew away before the metal titan could continue counting down to their destruction. "Where to, Danger Zone?" she asked.

"Find us a place to park, preferably far away from those tin cans," David told her.

"Those are Sentinels, right?" Zee said. "The DMA finally decided to send out the big guns."

"Looks that way," David said noncommittally. "But we still have people to evacuate."

"How are you going to do that?" Zee wanted to know.

"I'll think of something," was David's only response.

* * *

Down in Home's basement shelter, Lorelei was helping comfort the youngsters huddled there as the fighting raged outside. She glanced over at Larry. He was looking at the main entrance to the shelter with a hint of unease on his face. She out down the boy she was cradling—it looked like a cross between a boy and a squid—and went over to him.

"Hey, how are you doing?" she asked, sitting down beside him.

"Is there…is there any news about what's going on outside?" Larry asked her.

"Vital says that they're still fighting, that's all," Lorelei replied. "He didn't say anything else."

"Oh." Larry rubbed his temples absently and looked at the entrance again.

"Larry, is there something wrong?" Lorelei asked. "Do you want me to call Vital…?"

"No!" Larry said, a little louder and a little sharper than he intended. He lowered his voice: "I'm all right...I just…" Another look at the main entrance. "Lori…I think…" He swallowed and went on nervously: "I think there's trouble. Out there." He cocked a thumb at the entrance.

"What do you mean?" Lorelei asked, turning a nervous eye to the entrance herself. For a few moments, she imagined that she could hear something moving outside the hatch.

"I saw…" Larry took a deep breath, wondering if he could trust Lorelei. Although, at this point, he figured nothing could be worse.

Lorelei reached for his hand and squeezed it gently. "What's wrong, Larry? Tell me—please."

"We have to get out of here," Larry told her. "We're in danger. In my head, I see things…"

Lorelei looked him in the eye. "What did you see?"

"Something…or some _things_…I don't know what they are…" Larry looked over his shoulder as if what he saw was behind him, waiting to pounce. "I don't know if they're animals or machines…"

"They're in here? Right now?" Lorelei kept her voice just slightly above a whisper so as not to panic the others.

"If they aren't, they soon will be," Larry said. "That's why we have to get out of here."

"We can't go out there," Lorelei told him. "We'll be killed if we leave."

"We'll be killed if we stay," Larry said. "Lori, please—we have to get out."

Lorelei thought about it. "Larry, I can't leave Momma Lynn and all the others." She looked at the hatch. "But maybe there is something I can do."

"What?" Larry wanted to know but he had an idea what she was planning.

"Are you going with me?" Lorelei asked him.

Larry sighed. Did he really have a choice? "Yeah, let's go," he said. They threaded their way through the knots of people around them and slipped out of the shelter using a small passage. A few moments later, they were roaming Home's corridors. Lorelei found the absence of Home's residents eerie, if not outright frightening. The silence that pressed around her and Larry was almost oppressive.

It was that silence that proved to be an ally: as they moved around the deserted corridors, Lorelei heard small clicking sounds, like the claws of rats or mice tapping the floorboards. She touched Larry's arm, stopping him.

"What—" Larry was saying but Lorelei put a finger to her lips and pulled him into an open room. She shut the door and locked it as quietly as possible. The clicking sound seemed to be coming their way. She inched her way towards a hole in the door; Larry found his own spy hole. The two of them looked out at the hallway.

Larry was right: whatever came into her line of sight was neither machine nor animal. It was a combination of both that might've been intended to be an impressive display of technology but Lorelei found it horrifying. The creature crept along the corridor on all fours like a human-sized dog. Its eyes—or the things that covered its eyes—glowed red. Larry, who was more familiar with technology than she was, instantly recognized the creature to be some kind of cyborg. His father often talked about them whenever he was home from work. He encouraged Larry to do well in school—he always did well in math and science—so that he could design and create cyborgs for the government to help keep the nation secure against mutants.

Now it seemed that those cyborgs were loose at last, hunting down mutants—including him.

The Hound unit stopped outside the room where they were hiding. It seemed to be searching for something. A little behind it, they could see another one just like it. The two cyborgs appeared to be conferring with each other. One let out a low growl and the Larry saw a string of drool fall from its mouth or whatever passed as its mouth.

The lead Hound turned its head towards their direction. Lorelei nearly let out a frightened squeal but bit it back. Larry gripped her arm firmly as he pulled her back from the door. They slowly crawled further into the room, looking for a place to hide. Lorelei tugged at his shirt sleeve and gestured towards her right. Larry nodded and followed her. She knelt before what looked like a large closet and opened the doors slowly, not wanting the hinges to make any sort of noise.

"We can't go in there!" Larry whispered. "We'll be trapped if those things come in here!"

"No, we won't," Lori said. "Trust me." She went inside. "Hurry up, Larry—those things might look in here!" Outside the room, the two Hounds had been joined by another pair. The lead Hound had its snout right up the door, trying to make sense of the input being fed to it by its equipment. The three other cyborgs milled restlessly behind it. The leader growled softly. Then it rose on its hind legs and began beat at the door with forepaws that looked disturbingly like human hands. The other Hounds joined in and started assaulting the door. Within minutes, it gave way. The cybernetic hunters entered the room and began to search for more suitable prey. One of the other Hounds picked up the body signatures of the two young mutants. It let out a guttural sound halfway between a bark and a laugh. The other Hounds sidled up to it and the four hunters approached the closet, slaver dripping from their snouts and quivering in anticipation of being able to tear some live flesh to pieces.

The lead Hound didn't even bother to wait. With a growl, it slammed against the closet doors, knocking a hole in them. The other three entered swiftly behind it, growling and snarling, snapping their jaws expectantly. They slashed and bit at the old clothes, boxes, and other detritus in the space around them. To their puzzlement, however, there was nothing there that resembled prey, human or mutant. The Hounds paced around in circles as if wondering how their target could've escaped.

Behind the closet's back wall, with the relative safety of several inches' worth of wood and plaster between them and the Hounds, Larry and Lorelei began to make their way back to the shelter. If they could keep the Hounds from finding them, perhaps they could evacuate Home, although Lorelei didn't know where else they would be able to go if Home did fall.


End file.
